Issue 671 15th September 2017 by Exeposé

EXEPOSÉ

ISSUE 671 15 SEPT 2017 exepose.com @Exepose

THE UNIVERSITY OF EXETER’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1987

Image: Tash Ebbutt and James Angove

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FEATURES

Alex Brammer interviews BADBADNOTGOOD

Interview with Amnesty International’s Kate Allen PAGE 10

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PAGE 21

EXEPOSÉ

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Editors Print: Emma Bessent & Owain Evans Deputy: Tash Ebbutt & Graham Moore Online: Phoebe Davis & Ollie Lund editors@exepose.com News Editors Print: Megan Davies & Natalie Keffler Online: Nicky Avasthi & Ruby Bosanquet news@exepose.com Comment Editors Print: Alicia Rees & Malcolm Wong Online: Harry Bunting & Hannah Weiss comment@exepose.com Features Editors Print: James Angove & Isabel Taylor Online: Matthew Phillips & Daphne Bugler features@exepose.com Lifestyle Editors Print: Lauren Geall & Barbara Balogun Online: Bethan Gilson & Melissa Barker lifestyle@exepose.com Arts + Lit Editors Print: Mubanga Mweemba & Maddie Davies Online: Ellie Cook & Emily Garbutt artsandlit@exepose.com Music Editors Print: Alex Brammer & Maddy Parker Online: Chloë Edwards & George Stamp music@exepose.com Screen Editors Print: Ben Faulkner & Fenton Christmas Online: Johnny Chern & Molly Gilroy screen@exepose.com Science Editors Print: Leah Crabtree & Luke Smith Online: Ayesha Tandon & Rhys Davies sciandtech@exepose.com Sport Editors Print: Dorothea Christmann & Wil Jones Online: Michael Jones & Kieran Jackson sport@exepose.com Photographers Christy Chin & Léa Esteban photography@exepose.com Copy Editors George Pope, Jaysim Hanspal, Eloise Hardy and Hannah Kitt Proofers Maddy Parker, Tash Ebbutt, James 'Ben 10' Angrove, Wil Jones, Alicia Rees, Emma Bessent, Alex Brammer, Luke Smith, Leah Crabtree, Graham Moore and Fenton Christmas.

@ exepose facebook.com/exepose issuu.com/exepose Advertising Kate Watkins kate.watkins@exeterguild.com (01392) 722607 The opinions expressed in Exeposé are not necessarily those of the Exeposé Editors nor the University of Exeter Students’ Guild. While every care is taken to ensure that the information in this publication is correct and accurate, the Publisher can accept no liability for any consequential loss or damage, however caused, arising as a result of using the information printed. The Publisher cannot accept liability for any loss or damage to artwork or material submitted. The contents of this, unless stated otherwise, are copyright of the Publisher. Reproduction in any form requires the prior consent of the Publisher.

EXEPOSÉ FRESHERS’ WEEK 2017

Editorial An editor always pays their debts... ...just maybe not those owed to Student Finance. Cheers, TEF. At least there's a 30 year cap on repayments, right? This issue is all about preparing you for your first week at probably the best university in the world - no, seriously, it's on our official Guild stash. After introducing themselves, our section editors have pulled together plenty of content to cater to any possible interest this year's Fresher cohort could have. Arts + Lit's Cultural Calendar on page 18, Sport's guide to the underrated AU clubs on page 31, Lifestyle's lowdown on some of the best speciality societies on page 15, News' sneak peek at the latest addition to Gandy Street's quirky culture hubs on page 3, Music's semi-satirical soundtrack to the typical Freshers' Week experience on page 20, Science's assessment of some of Exeter's latest research findings on page 28, Screen's snapshot of a few of Exeter's film and TV socs on page 25, Comment's unofficial and Exeter-based urban dictionary on page 6... we could go on, but you've only got two weeks to read this before the next paper comes out. We've interspersed all of our HBO parodying and self-promoting with features on four of our six Sabbatical Officers - the elected student representatives who work all year round to make sure your student experience is as phenomenal as it can be. Find out a bit more about Shades, Becca, Kat and Bry on pages 8 to 9. 2017/18 a particularly exciting year for us here at Exeposé, as it's the paper's 30th

birthday. We're planning a series of special events and celebrations for the upcoming term - like our page and join our writers' groups on Facebook to be kept up to date with what we're up to. Exeposé publishes a print issue every fortnight during term time, and our website runs year round, so there's always something new to read - or write, if you think student journalism might be for you! You don't have to write to get involved, though; we run regular socials, and (crucially) proof the paper every second Friday in A&V, with free pizza provided by Domino's. We'll be in the Forum all of Freshers' Week with our Xmedia siblings XTV and Xpression, so why not come along and ﬁnd out more about how you can get involved? A special thanks for this issue has to go to our fantastic deputy editors Tash Ebbutt and Graham Moore, and section editors Alicia Rees, James Angove, Maddy Parker, Alex Brammer, Fenton Christmas, Luke Smith, Leah Crabtree and Wil Jones. Thanks for giving up a week of your summer to sleep on the ﬂoor, struggle with InDesign and make this issue happen. Until next issue, then, we'll leave you with the wisdom of Tyrion Lannister. "A mind needs Exeposé as a sword needs a whetstone if it is to keep its edge" - or at least something like that. May your Freshers' Week be light and totally free of terrors.

Monday

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Wednesday Thursday

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11.30-14.00, Forum; 14.30-16.00, St Luke's 'Keeping It Current' Quiz (News, Comment, Features) 17.30-20.30 - Pieminister, Devonshire House

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r stall, Come and chat to us at ou every day in the Forum! JOIN EXEPOSÉ!

Want to be part of one of Exeter's bigg est student groups? Exeposé membership is just £10 - the pric e of six jägerbombs in the Lemmy. Find us in Forum Street at the Freshers' Fair, or join onli ne at www.exeterguild.org/societies/exepose/

See you at the Freshers' Fair! Owain and Emma x

Worldwide university news University employees face murder charges

Segregation in university choices

12 NSS boycotts effective

Sexual harrassment rife at Australian universities

WO university staff members, one a microbiology professor at Northwestern University in Chicago, and the other a financial officer at the University of Oxford, are facing murder charges for stabbing a Chicago hair stylist. Wyndham Lathem and Andrew Warren talked about “carrying out their sexual fantasies of killing others and then themselves” before meeting up in Chicago in July. On 27 July, they stabbed Lathem’s boyfriend Trenton Cornell-Duranleau 70 times, nearly decapitating him, in Chicago. An eight-day manhunt took them to California, where they surrendered and were brought back to Chicago to be tried. Northwestern University fired Lathem after the stabbing.

study conducted by the University of Bath has warned of a lack of “ethnic mixing” in the UK’s universities. Ethnic minority students are reportedly more likely to apply to Universities in London or other big cities, whilst white students are more likely to attend predominantly white institutions. These ethnic divisions also occur within different subjects; only 25 Black Caribbean students entering medicine or dentistry courses in 2014-15. There are currently universities across the U.K. where ¾ of the UK students attending are from ethnic-minorities, whilst in contrast other institutions are over 95% white. Therefore, it is important to create more equal and diverse universities, which we can do through making people feel comfortable, and assuring them they belong no matter what their ethnicity is.

WELVE universities did not receive National Student Survey results this year, after their students’ unions boycotted the survey. While some subjects still gathered enough data to generate results at a subject level, there were not enough total responses to generate results for the institution. Wonkhe reports these universities as including the universities of Cambridge, Oxford, Manchester, UCL, KCL, and Bristol. The NSS annually measures student satisfaction with their course and university. The National Union of Students organised a boycott of the NSS as its results feed into TEF results, and it has been proposed that scores on TEF will allow high-scoring universities to increase their tuition fees.

T has been reported that over half of University students in Australia have said they were sexually harassed on at least one occasion last year, rising from 1 in 14 students being sexually assaulted in 2015 and 2016. These numbers are based on a survey of 30,000 students at 39 different Universities across Australia by the Australia Human Rights Commission, exposing the need for the authorities to do something about it. It can be argued a key effort needed to be taken is to try and prevent sexual assault from occurring in the first place, through the use of violence prevention strategies put in place.

Images: Wikimedia Commons (left), Pexels (right)

Stories by Natalie Keffler and Megan Davies, News Editors

News

NEWS EDITORS: Natalie Keffler Megan Davies

New year, News editors

Meet the editors who will be investigating the biggest stories this year

Natalie Keffler (Print) 2nd Year English BA

Ruby Bosanquet (Online) 2nd Year English BA

Megan Davies (Print) 2nd Year English BA

Nicky Avashti (Online) 2nd Year English BA

What is your Exeter highlight? ? Living with a bunch of wonderful beans (Christownians forever), and enjoying every single ‘average Exeter night out’ - plus the campus is so beautiful.

What is your Exeter highlight? ? Getting to know so many new people and trying out new societies! Also, once exams were out of the way summer term was so much fun. When I wasn’t getting to know everyone on my new committees, I spent almost every day sunbathing and exploring the nearby coast.

What is your Exeter highlight? ? My personal highlight was actually the people here. Everyone is so friendly! Also, town and campus are very pretty which is always nice to admire.

What is your Exeter highlight? ? Cheesy as it sounds, the biggest highlight for me has been meeting and getting to know so many amazing new people. Each new friend I’ve made here is an absolute gem and we’ve had a blast together.

What was your favourite moment of summer? It’s a toss up between getting home and having all the wonderful comforts of being cooked for and looked after, and holidaying in Barcelona with my best friends. Best news story this summer? It’s been inspiring and rather eye opening reading about all the incredibly brave people standing up to facism and white supremacism in America. Despite being horriﬁc, these events are continuing to occur - something we should all ﬁght to prevent. Exeter must do? Be as sociable as you can and join lots of weird and wonderful societies to meet as many people as you can- even if it’s terrifying at the time!

What was your favourite moment of summer? I was really lucky to do a lot of travelling this summer but my favourite part so far has to be the week I spent in Venice. Best news story this summer? It was a while ago now, but my favourite news story was the snap election - I worked with Exeposé and XTV on the night and had originally thought the results would be predictable, but learning the results and watching the Tory majority crumble live on air was fantastic. Exeter must do? Firehouse!! Go with a group of friends and spend an evening with delicious pizzas with a side of incredibly cheap alcohol.

What was your favourite moment of summer? I volunteered at a wonderful lakeside cinema with a great community feel - nothing beats having fun and making yourself useful at the same time! Best news story this summer? It’s a toss-up between Germany ﬁnally legalising samesex marriage, and when the Sri Lankan navy rescued two drowning elephants using navy divers, ropes, and a ﬂotilla of boats! Exeter must do? There’s probably a trove of museums and attractions that I haven’t visited yet… count this as a recommendation and a resolution. Exeter may be small but don’t be fooled- there’s so much to see and do!

What was your favourite moment of summer? Interning over the summer has been amazing (though incredibly hard work!) as it’s been really informative about the industry I want to go into and will be a great addition to the CV. Another highlight has been going on holiday with a couple of friends, we had the best time at La Tomatina in August. Best news story this summer? Every time a member of Trump’s administration quits it’s my new favourite piece of news. Exeter must do? Take an evening stroll to the Quay; it’s decked out with fairy lights and is absolutely beautiful.

in Gandy TEF sparks university debate Student voting habits drastically change MagicStreet

Ruby Bosanquet Online News Editor

HE University will be hosting a debate between Amatey Doku, NUS Vice President, and Exeter Vice-Chancellor Professor Sir Steve Smith. The two will debate the new Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) and tuition fees. A new government developed scheme, the TEF was published earlier this year and aims to provide information to help prospective students choose where to study by grading the excellence of teaching. The University of Exeter achieved a Gold Award along with the likes of the University of Cambridge,

the University of Bath and the University of Oxford. However, many leading universities were disappointed with the results with the University of Durham and UCL achieving Silver status and LSE receiving a Bronze Award. Out of the 21 Russell Group universities, only eight achieved gold. The controversial nature of these results has caused much discussion over the utility of the scheme. The introduction of TEF has also caused concern, as the government indicated that those universities with a TEF award will be able to increase their tuition fees in line with inﬂation. Whilst a date has not yet been released, the subjects of discussion promise an interesting and relevant

Megan Davies News Editor

study published by the University of Exeter has shown that students’ voting habits have changed considerably in recent years: even since 2015, a considerable shift took place, with students switching from the Conservative candidate to Labour instead. The researchers used a study from 1979, examining how students voted in the general election, and they asked the same questions to students after the 2017 General Election in June. The survey ﬁnds that the university’s reputation as a Conservative stronghold held true in 1979, and according to estimates, even in 2015. However, in 2017, 59.2% of students voted for Ben Bradshaw, the Labour MP for Exeter since 1997. On a national level, the student vote tends heavily towards the Labour

party, with 64% voting Labour, and only 19% voting for the Conservative candidate. While the authors cite several reasons for this shift, the largest one appears to be the EU referendum, with 84% of students on a national level voting Remain. As they write in The Conversation, “While our survey only shows a small part of the national picture in terms student voting, it demonstrates clearly the damage done to the Conservative brand among students, even at institutions at which the party has traditionally done well”. Doctoral researcher Nicholas Dickinson would like to interview students in September, if you are interested do contact him at nd327@exeter.ac.uk.

Alicia Rees Comment Editor

RIDAY 25th August will witness the opening of a Harry Potter themed bar, The Cauldron Inn, on none other than Exeter’s Gandy Street, rumoured to be the inspiration for Diagon Alley. The bar, opened by the Exeter based Novelty Bar Company Ltd, will take over four floors and include themed rooms and an app which guests can use to earn badges that can be translated into discount vouchers. Whilst The Cauldron Inn is thought not to be a replica of The Leaky Cauldron, you can expect to see floating candles, brewing potions and books a plenty, all while being served by the resident witches and wizards. With a bank holiday weekend of events instore and interests already suitably piqued, you can certainly expect a magical experience from The Cauldron Inn.

STUDENTS ONLY AT PARTICIPATING STORES

Free pizza must be equal or lesser value than the first. Pizza from the menu or ‘create your own’ with up to 4 toppings, premium crusts and bases charged as extra. Valid online only at participating stores, not valid with any other offer. Student ID may be required. Offer can be withdrawn without notice, subject to availability.

GIS

AT IO

r u o y d n a p Ex n r a e L â&#x20AC;&#x201C; d l r Wo ! e g a u g n a L a

Arabic, British Sign Language (BSL), Catalan, French, German, Greek, Hindi/Urdu, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latin, Mandarin Chinese, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Turkish

EVENING LANGUAGE PROGRAMME

www.exeter.ac.uk/flc/evening Find us on Facebook and Twitter: www.facebook.com/FLC.Tandem www.twitter.com/UoE_FLC

2017HUMS039

Foreign Language Centre Email: elp@exeter.ac.uk Tel: 01392 724306

15 SEPT 2017 | EXEPOSÉ

Comment

COMMENT EDITORS: Alicia Rees Malcolm Wong

Opinionated Glory

Meet the team who understand the power of the student voice

Malcolm Wong (Print) 3rd Year Psychology

Harry Bunting (Online) 2nd Year English

Hannah Weiss (Online) 3rd Year English and Spanish

Alicia Rees (Print) 2nd Year Drama

Favourite thing about Exeter? The people. Everyone’s chill and friendly with banter for days. Legends.

Favourite thing about Exeter? Firehouse pizza and the hotdogs outside the Forum on Friday.

Favourite thing about Exeter? The Greek Pizza from the Old Firehouse. Nothing can beat this beauty, especially when accompanied with the elderﬂower cider.

Favourite thing about Exeter?

What are you looking forward to this year? I’m deﬁnitely most excited about seeing everyone again and meeting new faces.

What are you looking forward to this year? Getting to write a mad fantasy story for my dissertation.

What are you looking forward to this year? I’ll be living incredibly close to Morrisons.

What is your Fresher’s top tip? If the beginning of Freshers taught me something, it’s that the Lemmy is a once in a lifetime experience. Literally. Don’t go more than once.

What is your Fresher’s top tip? Join some of the standard societies, like the one for your subject, and then ﬁnd something a bit random that you want to try. Whatever ﬂoats your boat.

What are you looking forward to this year? I’m going to be studying French alongside Drama so deﬁnitely most excited about that, even if my vocab is a bit rusty. C’est la vie.

E’VE all been there. The parents have dropped you off at your halls, you’ve half unpacked and tentatively tapped on your flatmates’ doors. A week of muddling your way through introductory lectures and society tasters and, of course nights out, awaits. It’s a time of transition, and it’s easy to let money matters slide once the loan drops into your account, but before you know it, you’ll be putting off checking that banking app, and praying your card isn’t rejected when buying a packet of noodles in the Marketplace. Here’s a few pieces of advice you could (but probably won’t) take on board to make sure that the loan isn’t maxed out by the end of your first month at Exeter: Don’t rely on takeaways! It’s the easiest thing to live on a steady diet of alcohol and takeaway food (unless you’re lucky enough to be in catered accommodation). Whilst options aren’t limitless, they’re varied enough that it’s tempting to blow half of your first loan instalment on Yo Sushi being delivered to your flat before you’ve so much as received your timetable. Your bank account, and your

health, will thank you if you plan ahead and cook some decent meals rather than relying on Deliveroo and post-night out cheesy chips. But also, be realistic and don’t feel too bad about buying those chips. You’re probably going to blow quite a bit of money on nights out, but you can limit it to a degree. Pre-drinks are your friends. As are some society socials where you might get a free drink or two. Or try sobriety. (Ha.) Try and only take out cash to stop yourself from draining your debit card with endless rounds of tequila shots. Somehow, this seems a better idea once you’re a few drinks in…

Don’t feel too bad about buying those chips It’s ok to say no. To save your head, and your wallet, give yourself a break from the mad nights by having a night in with your new ﬂatmates – there are deﬁnitely other ways to get to know people than getting smashed at Timepiece. Although it often helps. Joking aside, take some time for yourself now and again – taking Freshers’ Week at a slower pace will help your money and your energy go further.

What is your Fresher’s top tip? Don’t go to Sainsbury’s.

What is your Fresher’s top tip? Take your time!! The worst thing you can do is burn yourself out trying to do everything.

Look after the pounds... Bea Fones Contributor

There’s a pretty big Morrisons.

Prioritise at the Freshers’ Fair. The panic and hubbub of the Saturday Freshers’ fair is notorious. To be honest, my best piece of advice would be to skip the madness and do your signups through the Guild website. But if you’re determined to go and sign up in person, to get those all-important goody bags, try not to be taken in by the sheer amount of societies available. You’ve got the whole year to join more if you feel like you missed out at the start of the year – if you go too mad, I guarantee that you’ll probably buy too many memberships, and end up rarely (or never) attending events for at least one of the societies you sign up for. Take cash to the Fair, but limit yourself – it’s easy to spend hundreds on memberships, especially when joining clubs in the Athletics Union. PLAN A BUDGET! And stick to it! This is one of those, do as I say and not as I do, tips. It’s easy to lose track of money when you ﬁrst get to uni – between society signups, all the socials you want to attend and all the stash you need to buy, good intentions regarding a budget can quickly go out of the window. Try to log all your expenditures - and try to give yourself allocated amounts per week for food, nights out and other purchases.

Exeter slang survival guide The Lemmy

The Lemon Grove, student guild bar and home of the Saturday Lemmy

Stash

You may not know what it means but you’ve definitely seen it. Everywhere. Anything with the university or a society logo on it is stash and you will love it.

Arena/Moz

Some Exeter veterans will use these names, to us newbies it’s Unit 1 and Rosie’s. Meaning ‘empty glass’, if you don’ t tap your finished beverage of choice to your chest you’ve got to see off another one.

See It Off

Down it, chug it, strawpedo it, whatever takes your fancy.

BleedGreen

Our eternal motto, super important when watching Varsity.

COMMENT

The ultimate freshers’ bucket list Callum Newens Contributor

O here it is. The (in)famous Freshers’ Week. A chance to chuck yourself headfirst into university life. Exactly one year ago I was in your position, reading Exeposé and wondering what on earth to do during this crazy week. Luckily I have, in my (in)finite wisdom, created a list of do’s and don’t’s for Freshers’ Week that should help steer you in the right direction. A lot of it is misguided and painful attempts at humour, but there is also some helpful advice in here too. Whether you heed my (in)fallible advice or not, have a good freshers’ everyone! Do: Play ‘Never Have I Ever’ on the first night. The quickest way to bond with a group of people at university is to share some seriously personal truths. You may not know the surnames of the people you’re playing with, but you’ll end up knowing about a lot of their, shall we say ‘extra-curricular activities’? You’ll look at the girl down the corridor differently for the rest of the year, but as a way to break the ice

there’s no game better. Have a flat meal together. There’s a fairly high chance your flatmates won’t end up being your best friends – that is perfectly fine and normal. But you still have to live with them for the remainder of the year so it’s best to at least get along. If you establish a decent relationship with them at the start of the year and suss out what sort of people they are it’ll cause so much less friction down the road and maybe one of your flatmates won’t literally lock the microwave in her room later that year. Keep an open mind. It’s 3pm and I’m eating Frosted Shreddies in the kitchen when my flatmate and two guys I’ve never met before walk in, wearing nothing but adult diapers. I look up from my Frosted Shreddies. ‘Why are you wearing nothing but adult diapers?’. ‘Rugby social’. ‘Oh ok then’. I return to my Frosted Shreddies. Things will happen at university that you never really expected to happen. Embrace the change, embrace the weirdness. At the very least you’ll get some cracking stories out of it Constantly mention your gap year. Everyone reeeeally cares about how you ‘found yourself ’ in South East Asia. Be sure to inform others that if they

haven’t spent two nights in a yurt in Vietnam then they haven’t really lived. People will love you for it. Promise. Learn the lingo. Exeter University comes with its own specific terminology, so it’s best to learn it sooner rather than later. The Lemon Grove is ‘the Lemmy’, Timepiece is ‘TP’, ‘SID’ is the student information desk, Lafrowda is ‘Laffy’, those in catered halls are called ‘Caterinhios’, and geography students are called ‘less intelligent’. NB: Some of those are made up, so have fun working out which ones I was serious about...

Try new things. Societies will spend the entire week trying to convince you to sign up. They’ll throw fliers at you, bribe you with free pizza or run constant taster sessions. Give ‘em a go! Maybe you’ll discover something you

really love, gain a new friend, or at the very least not have to cook for yourself that night. Take care of yourself. Yeah alright, alright, I get it. Having someone pretty much the same age as you to take care of yourself is patronising, I know. However, moving away from home means you have to consider so much more than you ever had to before. Don’t neglect the important stuff: remember to eat well, exercise regularly, not overdo it on the alcohol, take care of your mental health, make sure you sleep, and keep an eye on your expenditure. It’s always a good thing to be reminded of. Don’t: Try to prove yourself. Claiming you’re a heavyweight in front of your entire flat, drinking far too much Sainsburys own-brand vodka and spending the entire first night of Freshers bonding with your toilet rather than your new friends isn’t an amazing start to university. This happened to a… erm… friend of mine. God, how embarrassing for that friend, eh? Expect much from the Lemmy. You know when you had your Year 9 disco in your school’s Sports Hall? This is like one step up from that.

Snapchat incessantly. We get it, you’re clubbing. We also get that you’re waving the camera around way more than necessary to give the impression that the club is amazingly ‘lit’, when it really isn’t. Worry about it. Looking at your friend’s snapchat story you see a photo of them with some blonde guy with the caption ‘bestieeeeee’. Another one of your mates has already regaled stories of two different ‘legendary nights out with the lads’ to the group chat. All you have is the Student Guild TShirt that doesn’t quite fit. It doesn’t matter. There is no right or wrong way to do freshers’. Do whatever makes you happy, and don’t worry about it. It’s meant to be a bit of fun. And by the time it’s Easter, Mark will definitely have fallen out with ‘his new squad’. If you follow those handy tips then I can guarantee that your Freshers’ Week will be an extraordinary success story. Probably. However, the most important about Freshers’ Week is to keep an open mind and have fun. It’s a fantastic chance to meet new people, discover a wonderful city, try out societies and, most importantly, get a taster of what university life is like. Enjoy!

Don’t worry, be happy Barbara Balogun Lifestyle Editor

T is safe to say that my stress levels started rising up one week or so before arriving for my first time in halls. When I first came, I had no idea when I would be going back home next and my main stress was due to the fact that I was scared I wouldn’t make any friends. Being an only child and non-British, I had decided to opt for a studio. First, I hadn’t received my first-choice accommodation, but little did I know at that

point that it was the best thing the uni could have done for me. Anyway, I ended up in Birks Grange Village on Top Floor of Block J (a selfcatered studio block). On my ﬂoor, there were 21 studios. When I arrived, there was only one other person as we had arrived on the week-end before freshers’. He came out of his room, presented himself, and I went back to mine to unpack. Obviously, in the beginning everyone is very timid, but by mid-freshers’ we were almost all outside in the corridor every hour of the day, or in someone’s room playing Cards Against Humanity, or playing cricket in the hall.

A little tip from me to you: during this week, I truly encourage you to leave your door open when you feel like it so that people feel welcome to talk to you. You’ll feel less alone and less homesick if you see people passing by and trying to socialize; it will make it less awkward than if they have to knock on your door knowing that they probably would have forgotten your name! When it comes to sharing spaces, such as the kitchen, although I was in a studio in ﬁrst year, I ended up sharing a house in my second year. Hence, I know the drill about getting the best storage spaces and so on. However, more than

Photo Credit: Wikipedia Commons

getting the best space, it’s about getting a space. You might have arrived to find one of your flatmates has privatized the whole kitchen – one thing you need to know is, don’t be scared to tell them - it won’t ruin your friendship, you’ll just show where your red lines are. It’s important for you to set your barriers from the start and not be scared to ruin some friendships. This will not be the case. And if it does, just remember two things: 1. If you’re getting angry about a kitchen then how will you get along during pre-drinks? 2. There are plenty more fish in the sea. Finally, there are always two types of people in halls. Firstly, the ones who have already experienced freedom at home and hence are not too scared about living on their own and going out to party. Second-

ly, those who are new to partying because they didn’t have that much freedom when they were younger, and are going to try to live like they have never lived.

If you’re feeling stressed, worried, or just want to chat, the following numbers can help.

The Wellbeing Centre 01392 724381

There are plenty more fish in the sea Just remember, Freshers’ Week is there for you to meet everyone, but you don’t have to like them all. Once the stress and fun of freshers’ is gone you’ll have time to meet your flatmates and friends in a different environment. And one last thing, if you don’t meet your best friends in first year, you still have two more years for that – not everyone’s experience is the same, and it doesn’t have to be.

Exeter Nightline 01392 724000 The Advice Unit 01392 723520

Sabbatical Special

15 SEPT 2017 | EXEPOSÉ

Owain Evans and Emma Bessent, Editors, interview four of our six-woman Sabb team about their new roles

Guild President

UR Guild President: first among many, defender of the people, leader of the land (well, so long as we only count the land within University grounds). Sure, that colourful greenhouse-y thing in DH1 may not quite be the White House, but it’s still a pretty powerful position. This year, the face of the students is an English Lit graduate from Delhi with a nickname that’d remind you of your last summer holiday. So where does the name ‘Shades’ even come from? “It came from school,” she reveals. A particular fondness for Eminem saw her gain the nickname ‘Slim Shady’, which, when she came to England “and people could not say Shraddha Chaudhary, became Shades.” For Shades, it was all about pursuing something she absolutely loved: “I really wanted to study English, that’s been my passion all of my life.” After being told by Oxford and Cambridge that she’d have to do a Foundation degree, Shades made up her mind to end up at Streatham as she was “quite keen on saving a year of [her] life.” Exeter also offered another draw for her, sport: “football’s a passion…so I wanted to continue that and Exeter’s a good place for that.” Soon, the little fresh-faced Shades found herself in the wild South West – but what does she remember best from her very first Freshers’ Week? “I’d say the thing I remember most is walking up Cardiac Hill in flip-flops.” Flip-flops?! On Cardiac Hill?! “I came from Delhi, where it’s hot – really hot – and so I was wearing flip-flops when I arrived. Then my friends were like “ ‘Let’s go to the Ram’ from Birks Grange.” [Editor’s Note: Whilst Shades may be a good role model most of the time, DO NOT

wear flip-flops on Cardiac Hill. Seriously. Just don’t do it.] What really saw her get involved with the Guild was charity work. “I worked really closely with UNICEF,” she tells me. “I worked really closely with the different charity societies, worked really closely with ESV…and that really drove me to get involved in the Guild.” Still, there’s a big difference between being Guildy and running for its highest office. “I saw that there’s never been an international Sabbatical Officer. That was something I wanted to change.” Despite Exeter being perceived as a predominantly white university, Shades wanted to remind people that “there’s diversity, and I think we should appreciate that”. She may not have been in the job long, but she’s settling in well. “It’s all really great”, she says. “I’m learning a lot, and not screwing up as much as I thought I would.” Perhaps this is for the best, since there’s an awful lot of work (and important work at that!) to be done this year: “A lot of this year is structured towards doing welfare with a more interactive approach, using social media campaigns: a ‘more pictures, less words’ a p p r o a c h .” She’s also hoping to tackle another big issue: how exactly we’ll earn enough to all pay off our loans. “A lot of people around me were so lost,” Shades remarks. “Providing more suppor t…having a tailored module… that’d really help students with employability.” And of course, she’s really hoping to make “student experience a little bit better.” So that is Shades: your Guild President. To those following in her footsteps and coming from overseas, Shades’ advice? “Be open to change.” And for everyone else, the message is simple: “Welcome to Exeter!”

VP EDUCATION

ITH a job title like VP Education and the campaign slogan #RelyOnBry, you expect Bryony Loveless, this year’s youngest Sabbatical Ofﬁcer to possess a certain steadfast wisdom beyond her years - and she certainly doesn’t disappoint. Chipper but astute, she owns the educational obsession which drove her to Sabbdom. “I absolutely loved my degree. I think people get a bit sick of me talking about it, but I really enjoyed it.” Bry admits that she found it upsetting to think that her stellar Exeter experience might not be universally representative: “It made me quite sad when other people were saying “I hate my degree” or “I really hate this aspect of my degree” and not knowing who to talk to about it. I just wanted to help people in that position to have a better student experience.” And help she will; with manifesto points promising deadline clustering, lobbying the university for a fairer, centralised mitigation system and reviewing module weighting, Bry’s time in ofﬁce will be dedicated to equalising opportunities for students across all colleges and prog rammes. She wants to see iExeter mobilised to give students access to their SSLCs (Staff and Student Liaison

Committtees) and ILPs (Individual Learner Plans), and is “hoping to run a similar thing to #ChatWithKat - we’re hoping to have an Education version of that with PGR and PGT and VP Education”, which will encourage students to be more engaged with the elected reps who answer to them. You don’t really expect to hear “one of the things I’m most excited about” as a precursor to that soulcrushing clause “fees going up this year with TEF” in such a light-hearted conversation, but Bry makes it work. She’s enthused about ensuring the university is “held accountable for how they’re spending their extra money” and encouraging students to actually consider what their tuition fees go on - see the biscuit scandal of February 2016 on Exeposé’s website. One of Bry’s endearing qualities is her frankness; she doesn’t pretend that every part of her uni experience was a bed of roses. When talking about her own Freshers’ Week, she admitted that it was a mixed bag - “I was so keen. I threw myself into it and got absolutely shattered, got quite sick the next week, but I loved Freshers’ Week. It was after that I began to find it quite difficult as you start to adjust to university.” Thinking about what she might advise her fresher self if she could go back, Bry said “I’d probably say to myself it’s okay to feel uncomfortable and homesick.” She went on, “When I was in first year, I was absolutely crushed by this feeling of “I must make the most of every single opportunity, I only get Freshers’ once”, but I just really struggled in first year. Sometimes making the most of your freshers’ year means giving yourself rest or giving yourself time to go home.” However, she remains ever the optimist, promising that every journey will have a few bumps in the road, and that when you find your niche, it’ll be worth it. “It takes a while for freshers to feel at home - it took me a while. But now, when I say I’m going home, I mean I’m going back to Exeter, and that’s mostly up to the friends I’ve made.”

“Caitlín Rankin-McCabe is your Vice-President Postgraduate Taught (VP PGT) for 2017/18. Caitlín is responsible for representing the views and needs of the postgraduate taught student community to the Guild, with a particular focus on well-being, welfare and academic interests of the taught postgraduate student community. As it is a newly elected position, the VP PGR role allows Caitlín to directly inﬂuence the experience of taught postgraduate students here in Exeter.” - Guild Spokesperson

VP Postgraduate Taught Caitlín Rankin-McCabe

COMMENT

Got a question for your sabbatical team? Drop them a line! president@exeterguild.com // vpeducation@exeterguild.com // vpactivities@exeterguild.com // vpwelfare@exeterguild.com // vppgresearch@exeterguild.com// vppgtaught@exeterguild.com

VP aCTIVITIES

T'S the position that brought us a campus music festival last year, so what can we expect for an encore? Becca Hanley has taken the reigns as our new VP Activities (or VP Fun, as some choose to call it), and she’s looking forward to an exciting year of social events. Oddly enough for someone who takes the lead on societies, Becca doesn’t really have anything that sticks out from her ﬁrst Freshers’ Week (she did arrive earlier, having taken part in Music Week). However, what she remembers best is “just the craziness of it all, there’s so much going on. It’s slightly manic, and it’s just so much fun,” before adding “obviously I did not go to an Exeposé event, otherwise that would be my answer.” (Nice try Becca…) Still, it’s clear that the societies that she joined then and later into her time played a big role in making Exeter so enjoyable, as she reminisces “staying up until whatever time it was with the Xmedia General Election coverage”, and “playing in the Great Hall with Symphony Orchestra when it was sold out.” So what got Becca involved in the Guild? “I mean, I was always involved with the Guild, without knowing it…and then, I interrupted in my second year, I had a really awful experience with my degree.” But Becca would come back, stronger than ever, and she wanted to make change: “so I had a chat to the Sabbs back in the day, which would be Naomi Armstrong and Bethan Jones, and they said that I could do a Change Agent project about it.” From there, a future VP Activities was born. The question soon shifts from what she wanted to change then to what she wants to change now. There are several things that she wants to cover: “improving student experience”, making sure that “reward and recognition is made better, because currently it’s not great”,

and also “society development”, to make sure that societies really are the best that they can be. “We want to make sure that everyone has the best experience that they can, that they come out with more than a degree,” Becca adds. “Because realistically, students are always going to be up against people with the same degree, and possibly a higher grade, from Oxford or Cambridge, and they need to stand out.” So what advice does our resident VP Fun have for freshers? “Everybody is just as scared as you are. When I started, I had every single worry in the world…and I went to so many society events and I made friends that I was still talking to four years later.” Beyond that, the biggest message she has is just simply to “give it a go”, and try out something new. She ends by saying “always get involved. Get involved with everything you possibly can. Your time here is not as long as you think – this year passes by in a blur.” Her message is clear: get involved with your course, get involved with societies, even get involved with the Guild (some elections are held in October – including Guild Council, SSLC and the little-known yet essential Shadow Council, where, as Becca puts it, you get to “keep us on our toes!"). If Becca’s enthusiasm is anything to go by, get out there and make the most of it – because this is set to be a great Freshers’ Week.

VP Welfare + diversity

AT Karamani, infamous at Exeter for her rebranding of the KitKat logo for her #KatCares campaign, is this year’s VP Welfare and Diversity. Between being publicity secretary for Ultimate Frisbee (an endeavour which won her “a silver BUCS medal”), working as social secretary for our very own Exeposé, volunteering for Just Love and of course acting as DVP Wellbeing, committee and voluntary roles were essential to shaping Kat’s Sabbatical self. She says that “different forms of leadership and having to take ownership of when you do things well and when you don’t do things so well” was, for her, essential preparation for the responsibility that comes with being a Sabb. Kat’s excited for what this year holds, particularly the launch of a mental health month, a project which is central to her manifesto and mission. She says she’s “collaborating with the AU, and also Mind Your Head and other societies, to come up with a campaign which addresses these issues - especially for first years, who might never have experienced mental health difficulties before and are just a bit confused with how they’re feeling, as that was me in first year.” In a courageous admission to tag on to her interview; Kat says that midway through Term One of her first year, she accepted that she’d been experiencing depression for a while. Brighter days were just around the corner, though. “Being away from home was difficult at first, but then as soon as you start to make friends - solid friends, not just the friends that you make in the first few weeks - once you get to know people better, it feels like Exeter becomes your home, and you have your own family and friends here.” It won’t always be easy to find that place of comfort, though. Feeling the pressure to make the most of her freshers’ experience, Kat continues, “I forced myself to go out every single night in Freshers’ and went to a different society thing every day, sometimes more than two or three a day, just to make sure that I didn’t miss out, because I have such FOMO.” After seeking help at the Wellbeing Centre and realising that it was okay not to be okay, Kat says she “started to own things myself more. It wasn’t just 'I want to be friends with these people

forever' or 'I don’t want people to hate me', it was like 'I’m just going to be me'. There are so many people at university and people will like you - even if it’s not the people that you think are going to be your best friends at the start.” Kat recommends the Wellbeing Information Directory, a project near to her heart as ex-DVP Welfare, for anyone struggling with similar issues, “because it’s got all the information for Exeter specifically as well as national helplines. If there’s something more specific or a certain issue, then I suggest coming to #ChatWithKat which will be launching in first term, and that’s an opportunity for any students to talk to me about any issue that they’re going through, and then we can either come up with a solution or I can keep you in the loop with what I’m doing to resolve it.” I asked Kat what piece of advice she would give to any fresher, and she decided to pass on the most valuable piece of advice that she received prior to her own Freshers’ Week. “The first year is about truly finding what you enjoy, and finding people that you enjoy doing those things with. Join societies, join sports teams, and explore Exeter. Just enjoy yourself.”

VP PostGraduate Research: Malaka Shwaikh a part-time member of the Students’ Guild Sabbatical team, elected speciﬁcally to represent

“Malaka Shwaikh is your Vice-President Postgraduate Research (VP PGR) for 2017/18. She is

the needs of PGR students. Malaka is responsible for representing the opinions of research students and sits on the Management Board of the Doctoral College, the body which approves University policy related to PhD students, and the Students’ Guild Council. The role therefore has signiﬁcant potential to inﬂuence the experience of all research students.” - Guild Spokesperson

15 SEPT 2017 | EXEPOSÉ

Features

FEATURES EDITORS: James Angove Isabel Taylor

James Angove, Features Editor, talks to Kate Allen, director of Amnesty International UK

MNESTY International UK (AIUK) could not have chosen a more youthful location for their head ofﬁces. Nestled in amongst the street art and hipster coffee bars of Shoreditch is the Human Rights Action Centre, the organisation’s hub of operations, from which they research, document and challenge human rights abuses across the world. It is here that I meet Kate Allen, the director of Amnesty International UK. Her dress is casual and colourful - a t-shirt adorned with a rainforest that morphs into a vibrant city scape - but her tone is largely serious and business-like. This well reﬂects the organisation itself, known for its bold use of colour and enthusiastic activists but concerned with tackling some of the deepest injustices of our time. The global movement for defending human rights began in London when British lawyer Peter Benenson read about two Portuguese students, living under the dictator Antonio Salazar, who had been imprisoned for toasting to freedom. Incensed about the injustice of this and other actions of repressive governments, he penned a letter to The Observer newspaper arguing that, if the outrage he and other members of the public felt ‘could be united into common action, something effective could be done.’ Benenson framed his outrage in the recently developed language of human rights, and named his campaign ‘Appeal for Amnesty’. The subsequent public response was immense, sparking the birth of the organisation in earnest and creating a movement that is largely g rassroots. It is in this spirit that Kate Allen, as director of Amnesty International UK, continues to work. “We completely and utterly believe that is in

Image: Flickr

Photo: pri.org

“There is still a lot for us to do” the power of people to make change,” she explains softly. Amnesty is “about the power of ordinary people standing up for justice.” One might expect someone who leads an organisation concerned with ﬁghting injustice to be in a state of permanent outrage, spouting ﬁery rhetoric as they go, but Allen is quietly passionate and speaks with consideration. She is clearly someone who loves and cares about her work, having been director for over 17 years now of the third largest Amnesty International section in the world. Before taking over at AIUK she had a brief stint in local government at Camden council, followed by a spell at the Refugee Council where she rose to become deputy chief executive.

We completely believe it is in the power of people to make change Yet her tenure at AIUK hasn’t been without incident. In 2012, plans to restructure Amnesty International towards a greater focus on the global south - by opening ofﬁces in Nairobi, Johannesburg, Bangkok and Hong Kong - saw Allen implement cuts of £2.5 million to AIUK and resulted in over 40 redundancies. Workers went on strike and there were calls for her resignation over these plans. “We’ve gone through some really big and, for us, very difﬁcult change,” Allen comments. But she stresses that “as a movement I think we’re in a brilliant place.” It strikes me that Amnesty seems torn between its local activist base and its strong roots in London on the one hand, and its international activism and growing presence around the world on the other. Allen herself is relentlessly outward in her outlook and in her ambitions for Amnesty to become a “global movement”, and this strikes at the heart of the disputes that took place. This is

not to say, however, that she ignores her local activist base. Allen regularly engages with groups across the UK and before I‘d even sat down Allen had already asked me about the progress of the university’s Amnesty group. I ask if, even in the face of the mass human rights violations that she has documented over her years, she is still an optimist. “Yes, absolutely,” she asserts. “You cannot not be.” Allen believes, for instance that actions documenting the human rights abuses in North Korea are not futile, that they send a message that “the world is watching … and the day will come” when North Korea no longer has an authoritarian government. She is positive and brimming with enthusiasm as she turns to consider the alternative. “The opposite is that you do nothing. And as Amnesty we refuse to be in a position where we do nothing. Regimes change, we see governments crumble, we see things happen that are unexpected. You have to push away, even at the most intractable problems like North Korea. You cannot give up.” Allen is in full ﬂow: “we do see change and we see some pretty brilliant change in the world, and some of it that we’ve been responsible for as Amnesty - whether it’s people who have been released from prison or off death row; whether its changes in laws or attitudes - that is something we are part of and I see that all the time too.”

We’re needed as much, if not more, than ever This isn’t an immodest claim for Allen to make. Most recently, over 200,000 Amnesty members took action to pressure for the release of Chelsea Manning , which happened with just days to go before the end of Barack Obama’s presidency. Amnesty members also campaigned passionately for the release of US prisoner Albert Woodfox from prison after over 40 years in solitary conﬁnement, a period of time which Amnesty claims amounts to torture. More broadly, the organisation’s pressure for a global Arms Trade Treaty and against the use of the death penalty has seen great success over its history. Though despite these successes and despite Kate Allen’s optimism, it is clear that the environment for those defending human rights is still challenging. According to a report by NGO Front Line Defenders, 281 human rights activists were killed last year, and over 1000 were harassed, detained, or subjected to smear campaigns and other

violations. “What we are witnessing today is a full-frontal assault by governments, armed groups, corporations and others with power on the very right to defend human rights,” says Salil Shetty, SecretaryGeneral of Amnesty International. The words feature in a recent briefing entitled ‘Human rights defenders under threat – a shrinking space for civil society’, released to accompany the start of the new campaign BRAVE, conducted to detail and defend the position of human rights activists across the world. This gives some indication of the organisation’s concern for present trends. “We’re needed as much, if not more, than ever,” Allen accepts, as she begins to express her worries about the “rising populism” of Trump, Duterte and Erdogan with the latter of these figures a specific focus of Amnesty at the moment.

As Amnesty we refuse to be in a position where we do nothing Over the summer two members of Amnesty’s top staff in Turkey were detained along with other activists, in a move that Allen condemns as indicating “the collapse of any rule of law”. “Allegations against them are ones of assisting terrorism and espionage,” she continues. “These are ludicrous charges.” At this point Allen sits slightly awkwardly in her chair, almost tilted at 45 degrees, shifting slightly every couple of sentences. Her words in contrast, remain composed and deliberate. She commends Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson who publicly called for the activist’s release in early August. “We’ve had very good support from the British government, the US government, the French government and the German government […] we’re

talking about what to do next.” I ask about if the West should be doing more to pressure Turkey. Allen swiftly corrects me: “I don’t think it’s just about the West, I think it’s about the world, and wherever there is influence I think that that influence should be used with President Erdogan and others. So that’s what we’ll try to do.” Amnesty also hopes to use this same influence in the political behemoth of the moment, Brexit. I ask what Amnesty is aiming for from this process. Allen explains that they are encouraging the government to make decisions about leaving the EU whilst bearing in mind human rights, not just “when [it] feels like it or when it’s easy”. She particularly expresses concerns about a Brexit Britain, in which “trade deals takes precedence over everything else”, namely at the expense of human rights. She cites the current government policy of arms sales to Saudi Arabia as an example of what Amnesty wishes to prevent. “At the moment we see the government selling arms to Saudi Arabia. We know that they’re being used in war crimes in Yemen.” For Allen, these arms sales provide evidence that the UK government is willing to put trade ahead of human rights in the future and fuel worries that leaving the EU framework will leave people unable to challenge a government’s human rights record. “If it’s just the UK, and it’s desperate for trade and it’s not part of a union that is critical about human rights … is [the UK] going to be critical?” I ask if, given the uncertainty in the world and all we’ve talked about today, she believes in the idea of inevitable progress. Kate Allen smiles and, recalling the day before spent giving interviews about North Korea, says “I think there is still a lot for us to do.”

Meet The Editors - Print

Isabel Taylor

Isabel started at Exeposé covering rainy sports matches, but swiftly moved to Features to write scathing political pieces. She studies PPE but spends most of her time playing Hearthstone. Isabel split this summer between holidays in France and trying to ﬁnd an angle on 50 years of music fashion icons for Radio 2. Now back for her ﬁnal year, you can reduce Isabel’s stress levels by offering to buy her a drink or by writing content.

James Angove is a third year PPE student who lives near enough to Shefﬁeld to classify as a Northerner. He can usually be found eating Oreos and photoshopping for Exeposé. Alongside his partner and occasional friend Isabel Taylor, he edits the print features section of Exeposé. If there is something you’d like to write about that you think would be suitable for the section, please get in touch at features@exepose.com

James Angove

From prejudice to pride?

FEATURES

Emily Garbutt, Arts + Lit Editor, considers the 50th anniversary of the Sexual Offences Act

Image: Flickr

N 1967, after nearly ten years of campaigning, “private homosexual acts” between men aged 21 and over were decriminalised as part of the Sexual Offences Act. As the fiftieth anniversary dawns on this landmark piece of legislation, it begs the question: is changing the law enough when it comes to making progress? To answer this, we have to look back in time. All the way back to 1533, in fact, when sodomy was first criminalised and England’s homophobic history of legislation began. Nothing changed until 1861, when the Offences Against the Person Act reduced punishment for such an act from capital punishment to life imprisonment, as proposed by the MP Henry Du Pré Labouchère. However, the Labouchère Amendment made the law surrounding gay sexuality much more insidious; it extended the punishment to any homosexual act between men, defined as 'gross indecency'. This made prosecution easier, as evidence of penetrative sex was no longer required. This amendment was often referred to as 'the blackmailer’s charter', as the vagueness regarding evidence and consent led to expansive judicial interpretations. The writer Oscar Wilde is the most wellknown victim of this legislation; he was imprisoned and sentenced to two years of hard labour in 1895. Fast forward to the twentieth century,

specifically to 1954, thirteen years before the Sexual Offences Act came to pass. The government appointed a committee to review the laws dealing with homosexuality and sex work, chaired by John Wolfenden. The increase in the number of homosexual “offences” and media scandals had become a cause of concern, as had the visibility of sex workers in London in the early 1950s. The Wolfenden Committee reported back to the government in 1957, recommending the decriminalisation of private homosexual activity between consenting adults (at the time, this was still anyone aged 21 or over, five years older than the age of consent for heterosexual couples). However, they also recommended that heavier penalties be placed against activity in public places. The Homosexual Law Reform Society campaigned for change and the subject was addressed in Parliament in discussions on Private Members’ Bills in 1960, 1962, and 1966. Despite this, no change was effected until 1967, with the passing of the Sexual Offences Act. So, what difference did it make? According to Lord Arran, Conservative politician and sponsor of the bill, gay men owed a lot to the generosity of the government. “I ask those [homosexuals] to show their thanks by comporting themselves quietly… any form of public flaunting would be utterly distasteful… [And] make the sponsors of this bill re-

Meet The Editors - Online

Daphne Bugler

If you’re ever looking for Daphne, she can almost certainly be found clutching a cup of coffee to fuel her caffeine addiction and get her through the stresses of a third year History degree. Despite having spent over half her life in the UK, Daphne clings on to every last bit of her fading Canadian accent, because let’s be honest, who wouldn’t want to be Canadian?

Matthew is a third year English Literature student (like about four-ﬁfths of the committee), when he’s not poring through the endless stacks of course materials, he seeks refuge in the arms of the Features section. He merely desires to engage with the world of journalism as in his opinion, writing is the quintessential form of reaching to others across all divides.

Matthew Phillips

gret that they had done what they had done” he was quoted as saying in The Times in 1967. Research by human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell may cause one to presume that this regret materialised case anyway, since an estimated 15,000+ gay men were convicted in the decades following the 1967 decriminalisation. Moreover, between 1885, when the maximum penalty of life imprisonment was repealed for anal sex between two men, and 2013, when sodomy laws were officially repealed in Scotland, nearly 100,000 men were arrested for same sex acts. Furthermore, despite the decriminalisation of private acts, the age of consent for gay men remained 21, exacerbating the harmful stereotype that older men seduce and corrupt younger men. Indeed, the punishment for those over 21 having non-penetrative sex with males aged 16 to 21 increased from two to five years of imprisonment in 1967. In 1966, a year before decriminalisation was passed, 420 men were convicted of gross indecency. By 1974, six years postdecriminalisation, the annual number of convictions was 1,711. In the Home Office archives, it was found that as late as 1989 there were still 1,718 convictions and cautions for gross indecency. A total of 2,022 offences of gross indecency were recorded that year. Compare that with the 2,034 that were recorded in 1954 and there appears to be little evidence of substantial change. Additionally, the Sexual Offences Act only applied to England and Wales; it didn’t include Scotland, Northern Ireland, the armed forces, or the merchant navy. Indeed, gay military personnel and merchant seamen could still be jailed as late as 1994. Shockingly, the legislation authorising the sacking of seafarers for homosexual acts on UK merchant ships was only repealed in April this year. Gay and bisexual men, as well as lesbians (albeit less frequently) continued to be arrested until the 1990s for public displays of affection such as kissing and cuddling, under public order and breach of peace laws. In fact, it could be argued that full reform did not happen until 2003, with the repeal of the 1885 gross indecency law and decriminalisation of anal sex. However, once

again this change in legislation only applied to England and Wales. The ban on anal sex was not repealed in Northern Ireland until 2008. Scotland’s anti-gay laws were repealed in 2009, but in the case of sodomy did not take effect until 2013. Has it all been negative in the ﬁght for LGBT rights, though? Steps towards legislative equality are still being made. In 2002, equal rights were granted to same sex couples applying for adoption, while same sex civil partnerships were legalised in 2004, followed by marriage equality in 2013. 2003 saw the repeal of Section 28, a law that had made it illegal to talk positively about homosexuality in schools since 1988. In 2004, the Gender Recognition Act allowed transgender people to change their legal gender and in 2005 the Criminal Justice Act meant that homophobic crimes were now classiﬁed as hate crimes and therefore were treated more seriously.

Legislation can enable progress, but it cannot single handedly alter public opinion On the other hand, a report commissioned by Pride in London found that almost 50% of LGBT+ Londoners have been a victim of a hate crime in the past year. Only 21% of victims reported the crime to the police, further evidence of the fact that LGBT+ people are less likely to report hate crimes than the rest of the population. A report by the Equality and Human Rights Commission suggests that this is because of a fear of how they will be treated by the authorities. And is this distrust really so hard to believe, when one takes into account the homophobic legislation exacerbated by the police force over the past decades? Equality laws are undeniably a step in the right direction; better late than never, as the saying goes. But is the twenty-ﬁrst century’s strive towards equal rights enough to undo decades of oppression and abuse? Hate crime statistics and the failure to report and therefore prosecute the perpetrators would suggest otherwise. Legislation can enable

progress, but it cannot single handedly alter public opinion. Moreover, is the attitude of the government accurately reflected by the laws they pass? For example, the 1967 Act and the work of the Wolfenden Committee was ultimately an attempt to decrease the number of gay media scandals. It could also be argued that a major goal of the 2013 marriage equality legislation was simply to bolster liberal public support for the Conservative Party. Although it was the Tories that instigated this bill, it would not have passed if it had not been for the votes of Liberal Democrat MPs in the coalition. Furthermore, while this decision was celebrated, the Home Office continued to deport LGBT+ asylum seekers. The government’s attitude towards equal rights for the LGBT+ community is inconsistent, to say the least. In the fifty years since the 1967 Sexual Offences Act, it is clear that progress has been made towards equality, both de jure and de facto. Indeed, in the eyes of law total equality for LGBT+ people has perhaps already been achieved with the passing of 2010 Equality Act, which brought all protections into one law. However, real, lived equality amongst gay and bisexual men, and the LGBT+ community in its entirety, would still appear to be out of reach. Incidences of hate crimes are still high and discrimination still exists in the minds of many people. So, to return to the question at hand: is legislation enough when it comes to making progress? “Not in the slightest”, would appear to be the answer. Life is a lot better now for the marginalised than it was in 1967, but how much of that the Sexual Offences Act can take credit for is questionable. Legislation is important, with marriage equality being one such prominent example, but laws are not the be all and end all for equal rights. This is especially true if one contrasts legal rights with the mortal struggle of victims and their partners during the AIDs crisis. Although things may have improved for LGBT+ people in the last 50 years, praise of the Sexual Offences Act of 1967 should always be taken with a pinch of salt.

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lifestyle

New to the catwalk

An introduction to the gals who power the Exeposé Lifestyle team LAUREN GEALL

BETHAN GILSON

MELISSA BARKER

Print, third year English

Online, second year History

Online, third year History

Hello there! My name is Lauren, and I’m a third year English student from West Sussex. When I’m not Exeposé-ing you’ll find me scrolling through Depop on the hunt for another smock dress or graphic t-shirt, drinking tea, and talking non-stop to whoever will listen.

Hello, I’m Bethan, and I’m so excited to be your new Online Lifestyle editor. If the name wasn’t already a give-away, home for me is over the Severn Bridge in the South Wales Valleys (though my accent isn’t quite as thick as Nessa Jenkins’, and I am without the Welsh Dragon tattoo).

Hi, I’m Melissa, and I’m delighted to be your new Online Lifestyle editor. Very much conforming to the ‘Exetah’ stereotype, home resides ‘just outside of London’.

Whilst I’ll admit my lack of love for the Exeterworshipped avocado marks me out from most Lifestyle writers, I hope I can bring some new ideas to the section. I am passionate about increasing awareness regarding the importance of taking care of your mental wellbeing whilst at University. Throughout the next year you’ll probably find me stressed in the library, the Exeposé office, or even in Pret (the lines...). Really, all jokes aside, I’m excited to see what this year will bring and hope to give as much as I can to this wonderful newspaper.

I'm most likely to be found in Firehouse (a must visit), binge watching Sex and the City for the 17664th time, scrolling through Pinterest and getting major outfit envy, or in Cheesy Tuesday with a pot full of glitter poured all over my face. At least, that’s how I’d like to imagine myself; in reality, I’m probably in my PJs by 7pm and frantically writing a History essay that I’ve inevitably left until the last minute.

Although first year seems like a blur now, the advice I’d give is to enjoy yourself as much as possible. Get involved, make new friends, and don’t waste too much time worrying. You can save that for second year!

Top tip: Be kind to yourself! Moving to university is such a massive step and it’s okay to feel a bit frightened and lost at first, so don’t beat yourself up if you’re not having the best time of your life, at every moment, from the word go. Give yourself time to settle and be patient with yourself.

Usually I’ll be found in Boston Tea Party with a chai latte in hand (a MUST try), attempting to complete that reading for my 9am history seminar the next morning – but really I'll probably be online shopping, posting said set up onto Instagram or daydreaming about post-uni traveling (sigh). Sadly, BTP’s scarcity of plugs means I must at some time return home, probably to enjoy an evening of procrasti-baking and watching backto-back episodes of Gilmore Girls (again..). Unless there’s a DSP or TP Friday on the table, in which case find me the cheapest bottle of wine with the highest percentage. Just no rum. Never rum. Top tip: Enjoy it!! Freshers can be scary, but relax and have fun, put yourself out there and make memories to last a lifetime.

BARBARA BALOGUN Print, third year IR

Hey everyone, I’m Barbara! I'm 20, and in my penultimate year of my degree studying International Relations. I know, I’m a bit of a change from the long list of English bachelors amongst the Exeposé editors. However, although studying something different and wearing an afro, I’m really a very typical Exetah girl. My fridge is typical of what you imagine from a French person living in Exeter: avocados, cheese, and that’s about it really. As an International Relations student I’m obsessed by politics, the use of nuclear weapons, the rise of terrorism - but I also have normal interests (holla at me Unit 1 and Timepiece). I have a love-hate relationship both with Netflix and the gym. On campus, you can most certainly find me either at AMT ordering a Chaï Steamer or a White Hot Chocolate (yes, typical), in the office, or in the library trying to write and start my readings for my dissertation. My top tip is to always try. Even if you don’t believe in your capacities, you’ll always regret what you haven’t tried.

Survival Guide: Stay Fresh

Exeposé Lifestyle offer their top tips for all you newbies

ET Exeposé Lifestyle offer you some handy hints for surviving the university experience. First things first, food. For many freshers, university is the first time you’re expected to feed and shop for yourself full time. Whilst not starving may be your main objective, there are some quick and easy ways to make cooking for yourself easier, and cheaper too. First of all, bulk cooking is your best friend. Although it may take a bit of preparation, cooking a big lot of bolognese sauce and dividing it to be frozen will save you so much time, and when pres in Exeter start at 7pm, time is something you may be lacking. As well as this, planning your meals can help you ensure you are using up the food in your fridge. Expiry dates are your worst enemy, and when they creep

up unexpectedly you end up wasting food and money. One of the best ways to keep this up is to make a meal plan for each week, taking note of which things need using up and when. It may seem a laborious task at the time, but on a student budget every penny counts! Next, it's time to crack out the sticky notes and coloured pens and get organised. One of the things you will completely forget to consider when you come to uni is the amount of organisation which goes in to living independently. As well as organising your academic work and

any society responsibilities you may have taken on, you also have to remember the more mundane things, such as doing your washing on time so you don’t run out of underwear. To make sure you keep on top of all of it, getting a planner is your best bet. There are so many pretty ones online and in shops which will motivate you to keep organised, such as the Rifle Paper Company's 17th Month Planners or Ohh Deer’s more affordable range of agendas. By keeping on top of everything you’re guaranteed to feel a bit less stressed, and organisation can do wonders for your mental health and wellbeing too.

University means finally flying the nest,, and since living in a flat or shared house can often be a bit busy and hectic, it’s important to make your bedroom a comfortable place where you can relax and feel at home after a long day on campus. It’s not hard to brighten up any generic halls room with a few affordable ideas, such as printing out lots of pictures before you move away. Not only will the pictures cover up any dull parts of the room, but they’ll help you to feel less homesick on the harder days. Simple decorations such as plants, art prints, and fairy lights can turn any halls into somewhere cosy and welcoming. It doesn’t have to break the bank, but taking the time to decorate is more important than you might think at first, especially if you’re worried about feeling homesick.

EXHIBIT

LIFESTYLE

EDITORS: Barbara Balogun & Lauren Geall

15 SEPT 2017 |

It's time to go Exe-plorin'

Exeposé Lifestyle offers the ultimate travel guide for every fresh explorer

EXERCISING IN EXE

BRILLIANT BARS

SHOP TIL YOU DROP

You’ll find a variety of gyms in Exeter, which is great news for those of you who like to work out and stay fit. Some are open 24/7, and some have discounts for students with occasional hidden clauses you should be careful about. I suggest having a look around before signing up anywhere. The university gyms offer numerous packages to suit a variety of budgets. From swimming to classes, there is a plenty on offer- a great place to start your search! Also bear in mind that there are a wide range of sports societies such as the infamous BodySoc, who run lots of different classes throughout the year such as LBT, circuits and yoga. The choice is endless!

Exeter is not famous for its nightlife, but that doesnt mean that we're not proud of the little gems we do have. The Imperial (also known as the Impy) is our beloved Wetherspoon’s, one of three in our small city and the first thought for cheap food and cocktail pitchers galore. If you're looking for something a little more high end, consider the Book Cover on Longbrook Street.. If you're looking for chilled out vibes, good cider, and gigantic pizzas, check out the Old Firehouse, a pub that is said to have inspired the Leaky Cauldron in Harry Potter. Speaking of HP, a new bar has recently opened celebrating the literary sensation - see page 3 for more details. Also consider John Gandy’s, perhaps the perfect place to try a multitude of shots. In regards to club nights, there is UNIT 1 with the fabulous Cheesy Tuesdays, TP Wednesdays, or maybe even Magic Hatstand at Cavern. And finally, how could we forget the RAM, Exeter's iconic student union bar in Devonshire House that offers up the famous curly fries. Don't forget to hit up Rameoke on a Friday night... you might want to bring some ear plugs. It's the Exeter equivalent to the X- Factor (or should that be 'Exe-Factor'?).

Although Exeter is a relatively small city, it still has plenty of options for resident shopaholics. From the usual high street spots to unusual independent gems, you will be able to find anything that your heart desires, something perfect for general shopping, gifts, or even that cheeky treat when the student loan finally rolls in. As a new student, budgeting is super important, as of course is getting those bargains. Some useful stores to visit during Freshers' Week include Wilko, Poundland, Savers and your preferred grocery store (although we don't have an Asda). In regards to general shopping areas, Princesshay, the Guildhall, Fore Street and the Quay are all wonderful!

SCINTILLATING CINEMA

CAFÉS FOR CHILLING IN Exeter thrives in the café scene, bearing a broad selection of establishments. Some top Lifestyle favourites are Artigiano with it's frequent live music nights, Brody’s for a full English or some cheeky pancakes, and Boston Tea Party located on Queen’s Street. Another icon of this Devonshire city is the Glorious Art House (located on Fore Street), which offers scrumptious hot chocolate and waffles. Chococo on Gandy Street is also a delight, with its afamed make your own hot chocolate! March on South Street is the perfect choice if you have a 'do it for the 'gram' attitude... who doesn't love a pretty coffee shot, particularly when it comes with doughnuts this good.

THE UNIVERSITY With the highest tree to student ratio in the country, the most sunny days per year, and the beach not twenty minutes away, we don't need to tell you that this is probably the best university in the world - even with all the hills! Here on campus, you will attend your first lectures and seminars, brush up on your subject knowledge, and meet up with new friends for coffee or curly fries. You'll also be able to find your societies at the Freshers Fair, the Guild, the RAM, places to study, and of course Exeposé. Our office is located in the A&V, and all our editors work on this very paper every other week. Feel free to pop in whenever you fancy to ask questions about writing, how we make the paper, or even just for a chat! We run proofing in A&V every other Friday - an excellent chance for a sneak peek at the paper, not to mention free pizza. After all your classes are over, interesting talks are held by various societies such as ExMUN and DebSoc- this is something you should definitely try out! Other fabulous features include the famously picturesque Reed Hall, with its peaceful gardens, an outdoor pool located near The Grove (for when it's not so chilly) and our excellent gym facilites.

For all you avid screenies, Exeter has two main cinemas: the VUE and ODEON. Here, you can see the newest blockbusters and splash the cash on an expensive pot of popcorn. Meanwhile, Picturehouse poses a fun alternative, if a little further afield. For those of you who are more budget conscious, Campus Cinema offers a different film each week with varied screening times to suit your schedule. Whilst they maintain a passion for independent film, you will be able to catch world cinema throughout the year if you fancy something a little different. The best part, of course, is the price: cheap tickets as well as affordable snacks!

EXHIBIT

LIFESTYLE

EDITORS: Barbara Balogun & Lauren Geall

The social network

15 SEPT 2017 |

Exeposé Lifestyle offers their top picks for food, fashion, and friendship

MIND YOUR HEAD SOCIETY

POLE FITNESS SOCIETY

OUT OF DOORS SOCIETY

If you’re looking to try something completely new at university, Pole Fitness is the one for you. As a member of this society you can learn all about pole fitness and how it works, as well as making lots of new friends through their fortnightly socials. With pole fitness classes happening right on campus, getting involved would be a great choice for any adventurous fresher looking to get the toned muscles they’ve always dreamed of.

If you’re new to Devon and want to get a chance to experience its beautiful scenery, the Out of Doors Society is perfect for you. They hold lots of short trips to surrounding countryside spots such as Dartmoor and Exmoor, as well as weekends away further afield to the likes of Lands End, the Brecon Beacons, and Perranporth. Having walks of varying lengths mean there are options available for everyone, no matter whether you're a hardcore hiker or an amateur ambler.

As the University of Exeter's mental health society, Mind Your Head is passionate about breaking down stigma surrounding mental health issues and spreading the word about positive mental wellbeing. If you’re interested in learning more about how to prioritise your mental wellbeing at university, or just want to meet lots of different people in a comfortable and understanding community, look no further.

BAKESOC For lovers of the Great British Bakeoff (ie everyone), this society should be a number one priority. There are baking classes led by professionals and members of the committee, and all kinds of socials throughout the year with opportunities to chat to the other members (and of course eat baked goods!). With an attractive BakeSoc apron on offer at their socials, how could you say no?

VEGETARIAN SOCIETY

FASHION SOCIETY

For the vegetarian or vegan Fresher, look no further than Exeter Veg Soc. If you’re passionate about fighting for animal rights whilst enjoying some amazing veggie and vegan food, this society is something you should look into. VegSoc is welcoming to everyone, also encouraging meat eaters to come along and find out more about cooking more veggie food. With their talks from leading professors to attend throughout the year, this society is a great way to learn more about nutrition at university.

The University of Exeter Fashion Society is a versatile group which offers opportunities to all fashion lovers at all levels of engagement. Whether you’re a budding model, blogger, photographer, designer, or just someone who appreciates and follows fashion, Fashion Society is on hand to provide helpful experience to anyone hoping to enter a career in the industry, while also being more relaxed and fun for those with just a casual interest. With consistent socials, you will easily get to know everyone and quickly get involved.

TRAVELEXE

EXEPRESSO SOCIETY

As the society for students who love to travel, TravelExe seems perfect for any budding travel writers. Documenting trips to take at home in the South West and further afield, this group of jetsetting students can tell you everything you need to know about student travel, including support and advice for any freshers who are considering a year abroad. TravelExe has something for everyone, and just might be the perfect society to remind you of the world outside University as you spend another day in the library.

Exespresso caters to the enjoyment of that most basic of student needs - coffee. The society runs a variety of events, ranging from regular cupping sessions in partnership with Camper Coffee to roastery tours, and is a must-join for enthusiastic coffee-lovers looking to get to grips with Exeter's up-and-coming caffeine scene. All ranges of experience and interest, from espresso-sipping casual to hardened barista, are welcome.

EXEPOSÉ

COCKTAIL SOCIETY

How could we leave ourselves out? Come and hone your writing skills across all of our sections, and have fun picking up the paper and spreading your article across the kitchen to the endless dismay of your tidy flatmates. We might just be the (unofficial) best society on campus, so give student journalism a go and see where it leads you.

This is a brand new society starting up this year, branded as ‘Soctail’, which aims to unite people who both want to learn to make cocktails and (perhaps more importantly) like to drink them. There will be socials all around Exeter offering a wide variety of different workshops, making this is the ideal opportunity to learn some new skills while getting boozy (and looking sophisticated at the same time).

BODYSOC

MEDITATION SOCIETY

BodySoc offers a variety of exercise classes for those interested in getting exercise without breaking the bank on a gym membership. Taking place all over campus, they run intense sessions such as Aerobics and Circuits as well as lighter ones likeYoga and Zumba. However you like to exercise there's something for everyone, and with regular socials throughout the year it's a great way to make friends while getting fit.

Exeter's Meditation Society's aim is to promote health, happiness, and wellbeing through meditation, aiding stress relief and compassionate living. Monday sessions are mindfulness-based and beginner-friendly; Thursdays involve longer meditations and more indepth talks. Meanwhile, fortnightly socials range from wholesome meals to stargazing walks, whilst altruistic volunteering opportunities abound.

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RECOMMENDED

arts + lit Freshly painted Meet the minds behind Arts + Lit

MUBANGA MWEEMBA

EMILY GARBUTT

ELLIE COOK

What is your favourite art form? I love poetry; I enjoy the audiovisual aspect of the creative form.

What is your favourite art form? Theatre and being able to quote actors line for line after months of unpicking the play.

What is your favourite art form? Carrie Fisher’s use of emojis (RIP). Also novels, I guess.

Artsy summer highlight? I recently went to see the poet Neil Hillborn, who was amazing. I had been waiting all summer for his show, and he did not disappoint.

Artsy summer highlight? The Ruin Bars of Budapest this summer which showed me that decrepit shells of buildings can be breathtaking with a quick loop of fairy lights-

Artsy summer highlight? Reading things I want to read instead of things I have to read. I know, I’d forgotten you could do that too.

Favourite book? The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. I’m a fantasy nerd at heart, and it’s the book I always recommend (or, beg) people to read.

Favourite book? I’m a Jane Eyre girl at heart, because who can resist a story of a much older, richer man, a mad spouse and the timeless art of avoiding saying how you really feel?

CULTURAL CALENDAR

Online, second year English and ML

Theatre

Artsy summer highlight? My summer has been filled with reading texts for third year. Sadly, that is the only arts I have had time for this summer! Favourite book? From the age of five I have waited for this answer to change, but I’m sticking with it. My favourite book is Alice in Wonderland!

Shotgun Theatre Musical Theatre Workshop

Roborough Studios Monday, 11:00

Monday, 20:00

Theatre With Teeth Devising Workshop

Footlights Spotlights Workshop

Shotgun Theatre and Theatre With Teeth Writing Workshop

Theatre With Teeth Physical Theatre Workshop

Cornwall House Wednesday, 15:30

Activity Room 2, Cornwall House Thursday, 14:00

Shotgun Theatre Theatre Societies Take Cheesy’s!

Footlights Fitlights Choreography Workshop

The Exeter Revue Stand-Up Comedy Extravaganza

English Society EngSoc Takes Cheesy’s!

Jane Austen Appreciation Group Afternoon Tea

Game of Thrones Society GoT Treasure Hunt!

Activity Room 3, Cornwall House Monday, 16:00

Art Society Tie Dyeing

Alexander Building Foyer Monday, 13:00

literature

What is your favourite art form? I am a sucker for theatre. Not that I like to show favouritism, but a Tenessee Williams play is the way to my heart.

Theatre Company Theatre Societies Picnic

The Imperial, EX4 4AH Monday, 18:30

Favourite book? After much thought, probably His Dark Materials. That counts as one, right? Good.

Print, third year English

The Exeter Revue Shotgun Theatre and The Revue Pub Crawl Footlights The Ram Bar Musical Theatre Workshop

Gilbert & Sullivan G&S Goes To The Imperial

art

MADDIE DAVIES

Online, third year English

Print, second year English

Frank Oliver, Kay House Tuesday, 10:00

Grove Diner Tuesday, 19:30

Meeting at Forum Hill Tuesday, 20:30

Outside Roborough Studios Wednesday, 13:00

Roborough Studios Wednesday, 15:30

Boston Tea Party, EX4 3RP Wednesday, 15:00

Kay House, Duryard Thursday, 12:00

M&D Room, Devonshire House Friday 22nd, 18:00

Forum Hill Friday 22nd, 13:00

Art Society Life Drawing Taster

Creative Writing Society Tolkien Society Workshop/Meet and Greet Freshers’ Quiz A&V Conference Room Wednesday, 12:00

Activity Room 3, Cornwall House Wednesday, 18:00

Creative Writing Society Poetry Slam

Harry Potter Society Harry Potter Walking Tour

Art Society Dream-Catcher Making

Sherlock Holmes Mystery Society Meet and Greet

English Society EngSoc Pub Quiz

Activity Room 2, Cornwall House Tuesday, 10:30

Meeting at Northcott Theatre Tuesday, 13:00

Alexander Building Foyer Wednesday, 14:30

The Grove Diner Friday 22nd, 18:00

The Black Horse, EX4 6AB Pieminister, Devonshire House Friday 22nd, 19:00 Thursday, 16:00

EXHIBIT

ARTS + LIT

H, university. The best of times, the worst of times, the Georgia-Nicolsonarriving-at-a-party-in-a-stuffed-olivecostume of times. The late, great Louise Rennison wrote the ultimate handbook for teenage girldom in the form of ten-part series The Confessions of Georgia Nicolson. The escapades of Georgia and the Ace Gang were the definitive influence on my adolescent sense of humour and vernacular, as well as the source of many vital life lessons. Who else could have taught me that “he who laughs last laughs the laughiest?” apart from my old pal Georgia? How else would I know how to “tread the fine line between glaciosity and friendlinosity”? What other font of knowledge could have reassured me that “your soul shines through even if you haven’t got mascara on”? These books have always been a source of a comfort for me, in all their silliness. They saw me through my pre-teen years and their garishly coloured covers have been a reassuring part of my bookshelves ever since. Georgia is weird and loud and rude and self-centred, but she is also warm and kind and funny. Look past the boy obsessed exterior and she’s more multifaceted than most fictional teenage girls are usually allowed to be. But, most importantly of all, she taught me that everything is okay if you’re wearing really big knickers.

Emily Garbutt, Online Arts + Lit Editor

15 SEPT 2017 |

EDITORS: Mubanga Mweemba and Maddie Davies

INETEEN year-old Eiji Miyake has moved to Tokyo, in hope of finding his long-lost father. In a story that alternates between the real and the surreal, the imaginative and the speculative, Eiji’s journey sees him stumble unwittingly into the darker underbelly of Tokyo, in and out of love, and develop as a character in a convincing and engaging narrative arc. Drawing its title from John Lennon’s 1974 song ‘#9 Dream’, a move in turn referencing Mitchell’s subtle intent at spiritual succession to Haruki Murakami’s Norwegian Wood, number9dream is nothing if not dreamlike. Eiji’s story is complemented by a vividly colourful supporting cast, and in true Mitchell fashion the novel treads the fine balance between the fantastical and the personable. Familiar Mitchell readers will also appreciate the various small nods to the shared universe within which all of his novels coexist; meanwhile, meticulous attention to detail rewards the more eagle-eyed peruser from page to page. number9dream picks up the classic shape of a bildungsroman arc, gives it a good shake, and sets it back down firmly on its head. As coming of age stories go, Eiji Miyake’s ruffles both convention and expectation. Ultimately, the reader finds that loose ends are not so easily tied; for all its zaniness, number9dream holds true to real life - the destinations reached are rarely those set out upon. So, in the words of John Lennon: “Dream, dream away”.

O prepare for university, what better to read than a book set at one? I first read The Art of Fielding about a year before starting uni, impatient to finally get out of my parents’ home and to escape into a new environment, but one that still felt safe. Chad Harbach sets his novel at Westish - a fictional college on the shores of Lake Michigan and follows a young baseball prodigy who is at first destined for greatness, but soon makes a mistake that leaves him incapable of playing like he used to. In parallel, the story follows the years between school and adulthood of several characters, from the college president’s rebel daughter returning to her father’s university after a failed marriage, to the team captain dealing with the end of his glory days. At the same time, the book is full of references to previous work: Westish’s entire population appears to obsess over Moby-Dick, going so far as reading on the bench during a baseball game. Some use Westish space to recoup. Some want to use it as a place where they can grow, but safely. The small campus magnifies events, when everyone’s interests (baseball and Herman Melville) align. Not all ambitions are fulfilled, but every character goes through an incredible period of growth. I can’t say that The Art of Fielding represents my own university experience at all. What it does do, however, is build a tiny universe, a bubble separate from the big wide world, in which the characters can fall apart and build themselves back up again.

N the surface, Submarine is a classic coming-of-age tale of a teenage boy navigating a way to save his parent’s marriage and lose his virginity, but, going deeper, it explores the minefield of mental health and the sometimes terrifying reality of becoming an adult. The protagonist, Oliver Tate, is funnily naïve yet intelligent as he analyses the absurdities of adulthood. The constant juxtaposition between bleak thoughts and cutely-innocent, humorous judgements makes for a perfect Bildungsroman. It is easy to forget with all the over-analysing and references to psychoanalytic techniques (he says to his mother: “You are unwilling to address the vacuum in your interpersonal experiences”) that Oliver is innocent in his experiences of the world, comically so. Yet, experiencing Oliver’s life through his eyes (in first person) provides a vicarious experience which, equally, reminds you of your own growth in play-acting/ pretending to be an adult. Perhaps most relatable of all in Oliver’s character is the struggle to be ‘normal’ – what is normal? Is it okay to feel submerged by social adventures? Do adults actually know what they’re doing? The answers to these questions lie in the fact there is no ‘normal’. The weirdness of everyday life and coming-of-age is brought out in vibrant colour in this novel which remains, poignantly, in my tiny little heart.

Flying the Nest Graham Moore, Deputy Editor

Megan Davies, News Editor

Chloe Kennedy

Arts + Lit writers examine how creatives represent coming of age

.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye is your more complicated form of a coming-of-age narrative, as Holden tries so desperately to avoid this stage of his life. So, this is basically Peter Pan with drugs, prostitution and ‘The Big Apple,’ as opposed to the Lost Boys, a mischievous fairy and Neverland. The thing that always strikes me is that we are not thrown into the midst of Holden’s transition from childhood to adolescence. Instead, we are introduced to a character who has been wholly stripped of his innocence, but he has not yet made it to adulthood. This is the most ironic element of the book for me, as the protagonist desperately tries to cling onto something that he prematurely lost. The attitude he holds against adulthood – which to him is to be “a phony” – always interested me. Holden’s ideology contrasted with my own outlook on life; from the age of thirteen I was so excited to finish school, leave home, start university, and begin life in London. When I discovered Holden, I found it amazing that someone was living in fear of the dreams that I had and still continue to follow. Salinger’s writing is always the first that comes to mind when I think of coming-of-age, as it is not a stereotypical following of a hormonal teenager who is experiencing their first sexual encounter. Instead, I was faced with a boy who could no longer seek “phonyhood,” as he was searching in the midst of an in-between stage.

Maddie Davies, Arts + Lit Editor

HEN considering an art piece that could be considered as reflective of the student spirit, Andy Warhol’s 'Campbell’s Soup Cans' is an unavoidably suitable option. Consisting of 32 individual 20x16 canvases, created using synthetic polymer paint and a painstaking eye for precision, the collective piece sends out a striking message to the undergraduate youth. Said to have aimed at mimicking the homogeneity of corporate advertising, Warhol achieves something far greater. Differing only in their flavours, the cans stand proud as a symbol of unity, artistic liberality, and not to mention excellent mid-term budgeting. We are all subjected at some point to buying the budget beans, submitting to the unrelenting hand of Cup-a-Soup. But here we are reminded of the greats - that there’s no shame in the tin can, so long as you don’t betray your roots; brand loyalty runs as deep as football teams, to the point of bloodshed. The classics are unparalleled. This army of soup is synonymous with us, students, reminding us to stand in solidarity, to be proud of the impressive game of Tetris we each achieve to pack our cupboards to maximum capacity, and to boldly turn our backs on supermarket own-brand beans. We are liberals. Hungry for identification, success and any free meal going spare. But we have standards. Loyalty. And for that, we must be proud.

Anna Blackburn

HE Beauty Myth by Naomi Wolf shocked me into a significant ‘coming of age’ when I finally accepted that beauty standards are ugly. When I arrived at Exeter I was obsessed with my appearance, and it wasn’t until I investigated the origins of why I wanted to be ‘beautiful’ at the expense of all else that I was able to empower myself. Wolf uses statistics and case studies to argue that, as women were afforded more rights and became more empowered, new "cultural censors" came into women’s lives. The diet and cosmetic industries profited from an epidemic of self-hate, while eating disorders exponentially rose. Wolf fights against the poisonous thought that “beauty is pain” and argues that by conforming to beauty standards we could be committing an act of "violence" in suppressing our power. How often has concern about your appearance destroyed a good time, or ripped at your confidence? Wolf inspires change by modifying “the way we see and behave toward other women”, exposing the beauty standards or ‘beauty myth’ for what it really is: hideous. University can help you come of age, but so can questioning yourself and society. I challenged my own judgements, asking are they from a place of empowerment or oppression, and I learnt that to be at peace with my appearance is a political act. I will never again let the quest for "beauty" diminish my power or potential.

Olivia Denton

HERE are two poems which have particularly stuck with me through my first two years here at Exeter. My first year anthem was Rudyard Kipling’s 'If'; I even wrote it up in my best handwriting to add to my archetypal fresher’s pinboard of miscellaneous photos, tickets, fairy lights and other threedimensional-scrapbook fodder. The power of its (somewhat visceral) stoicism acts as a weighty spiritual anchor, and fresher-me definitely needed to be promised that self-determination is possible. Not everyone is lucky enough to find their niche in the first three terms of their degree; it’s a rocky and disorientating time, and it’s nice to see it written in black and white that these phases can be successfully lived through - even if you’re not too into Kipling’s latent sexism. In second year - and I know this claim will forever solidify my status as drama queen extraordinaire - I turned to William Ernest Henley’s 'Invictus'. I came back to Exeter in September 2016 resolved to make my university experience about more than doing alright in my degree and hiding out in my room feeling homesick. Term one was something of a rollercoaster, but at the turn of the year I finally began to climb my way “out of the night that covers me”. When the time came to hand back my keys for digs, I finally did feel that I had become “the master of my fate…the captain of my soul”.

Emma Bessent, Editor

music

Talking Eds

ALEX BRAMMER

CHLOE EDWARDS

GEORGE STAMP

MADDY PARKER

Print, third year English

Online, third year English and German

Online, second year English

Print, third year English

Favourite albums this summer: Brockhampton - Saturation/Saturation II Frank Ocean - Blonde Gustavo Santaolalla - Camino King Geedorah - Take Me to Your Leader Steve Lacy - Steve Lacy’s Demo

Favourite albums this summer: Declan McKenna - What Do You Think About the Car? HAIM - Something to Tell You Muna - About U Paramore - After Laughter Public Service Broadcasting-Every Valley

Favourite albums this summer: Beach Fossils - Somersault Brockhampton - Saturation Jay-Z - 4:44 Tyler, the Creator - Flower Boy King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard Murder of the Universe

Favourite albums this summer: Kendrick Lamar - DAMN Lorde - Melodrama Mura Masa - Mura Masa Radiohead - OK Computer OKNOTOK Stormzy - Gang Signs and Prayer

Dream interview: Chris Martin

Dream interview: Aphex Twin

Dream interview: MF DOOM

Songs of innocence Olivia Denton soundtracks your freshers’ week

Monday: Weather Girls - ‘It’s Raining Men’ Congratulations, you’ve defeated the examiners and finally made it to university! Time to celebrate with your first night out which happens to be the greatest night of the week: Unit 1’s DSP (Dirty, Sexy People). What better way to encompass DSP than with the 1982 disco classic ‘It’s Raining Men’. DSP darling DJ Willby’s tunes are an exciting mix-up of classic-to-modern anthems that will guarantee to leave you as elated as the Weather Girls. ‘It’s Raining Men’ also expresses what some may feel at seeing the cornucopia of attractive and single students in Freshers’ Week. There are a lot of (literally) dirty and (physically) sexy people at this university, so allow the Weather Girls to inspire you while you soak up your fresher’s forecast. Tuesday: The Killers - ‘Mr Brightside’ ‘Mr Brightside’ is the anthem of Cheesy Tuesdays, Exeter’s fun-fuelled noughties night out that takes you back to your Year 6 school disco. When this absolute banger comes on you will be sure to belt your vodka-drenched lungs out to the lyrics that speak to you in a way no poem, no book, no person has ever done before. Then: you spot your firstday crush making out with one of your so-called soulmates, and you run to the smoking area because “you just can’t look, it’s killing you and taking control”. Wednesday: Miley Cyrus - ‘The Climb’ An ode to Cardiac Hill, because maybe Miley Cyrus’ alter ego was not Hannah Montana, but a humble Birks Grange babe? Perhaps

Cyrus turned to the darker side of swinging on wrecking balls due to the humanising ‘climb’ up Forum Hill, or to the giddily edgy heights of ‘top top’ at Timepiece, late one Wednesday night? Make the climb up there if you can handle its transformative powers. Thursday: Snakehips ‘All My Friends’ The ultimate tune that vividly describes the horror of being stuck in a club when all your friends are wasted, and you hate the club, and you have drunk too much.If you don’t like clubbing this song is for you. Super great for breaking down in a club toilet! Friday: Bruce Springsteen - ‘Born to Run’ Friday night is one of the most exciting things for a student, that and a two for one on Dominos or garlic bread. Springsteen embodies the spirit of youth and adolescent freedom in this legendary rock song ‘Born to Run’. In East Berlin, 1988, Springsteen was invited to play a gig in the hope it might quiet young rebels, and the total opposite happened of course! So with that in mind, I think it is totally fitting with Friday night and how we should run down those Exeter hills to the club with joy

in our hearts and freedom in front of us. Saturday: Kanye West - ‘Gold Digger’ It’s fresher’s fair, and the societies love you more than Kanye loves Kanye - and they’re also in more financial debt than Mr. West’s alleged $52 million. You will be digging for gold in your pocket faster than a pot-noodle cooking in a microwave and, newly bankrupt. You may have to flirt yourself some free drinks at Saturday Lemmy afterwards. Sunday: Michael Buble ‘Home’ I originally picked this song in honour of the 20 minutes you will spend at the Lemmy in the early hours of Sunday morning before deciding to go ‘home’. But this song is also dedicated to the homesickness you might feel at the end of your first week of university. Because maybe even surrounded by a million new people you can still feel alone, and Michael Buble’s tender voice is there for you in times of both hardship and happiness.

COME TO THE EXEPOSÉ MUSIC FRESHERS SHOWCASE AT CAVERN ON SEPT 21

Dream interview: Kanye West

REMEMBER THIS? FLEETWOOD MAC Tusk 12 October 1979 When you think Fleetwood Mac, you think Rumours. And who could blame you? It redefined rock and teems with breakup anthem after breakup anthem, each more ‘fuck you’ than the last. It is the definition of relatable. So you also couldn’t be blamed for missing the band’s follow-up album, Tusk. The fact that this album even exists is a marvel in itself, because after the affairs and drugs that culminated in the creation of Rumours, you might expect the band to decide to close up on a high (quite literally). But not only did they keep at it, they came back with a hugely experimental double disk. The tracks on Tusk range from mellow, to punk-inspired, to guilty, to downright confrontational, a range of emotions that we haven’t seen on a record since. Tusk opens with the lullaby-like ‘Over & Over’, and is immediately followed by ‘The Ledge’, a stark contrast, with its guitar-heavy, punk-influenced vibe. The album also features ‘Not That Funny’, which is almost laughable with its doo-wop sound contrasted with overtly agitated, confrontational lyrics. I could present hundreds of arguments as to why Tusk was and is underrated, but instead, I’ll say that Tusk had an impossible task following up Rumours, so the true finesse of the record was overlooked. However, had Tusk been the breakout album of an undiscovered band, it would have been hailed as a triumphant debut redefining its genre. Nicky Avasthi

EXHIBIT

EDITORS: Alex Brammer and Maddy Parker

MUSIC

15 SEPT 2017

The shape of jazz to come

Alex Brammer, Music Editor, catches up with Canadian jazz group BADBADNOTGOOD at Love Supreme Festival What’s the process of songwriting like for you guys? Where do you start with each track? Chester Hansen, bassist: It’s really different every time – more often than not it’ll be all four of us in a room kind of creating something and jamming on ideas or whatever. Occasionally someone will have an idea preconceived before a session, but it mostly depends on like if it’s for one of our albums. There, it’s more of a band writing process for the most part but when we do outside collaborations it can really vary – like, it can be two people in the room, or even one or whatever.

I've noticed that you explore a lot of different genres and sounds – what kind of sonic horizons are you heading towards next? CH: I don’t know, honestly. On the last album especially, I think in more ways than one we’re just like, broadening our horizons – and Leland was a full time member of the band at that point, so we were using his abilities on a bunch of different instruments to create more orchestral arrangements, which we hadn’t really explored before. We’ve got a lot of collaboration stuff lined up, with friends and people we’re running into.

How do your collaborations with producers like KAYTRANADA happen, is that a more rigid process? CH: I’d kind of say it’s the same. All the times we’ve worked with him he’s come into our studio and we’d just kinda jam, plug in a synth and get some ideas down – some chord progressions, something like that – and just kinda go off from there.

Who is your dream collaboration? AS: Shit, I mean honestly a lot of people playing Love Supreme are really beautiful innovators and progressors of music – I mean, almost everyone on the bill really we need to work with in some kind of capacity. We’re super influenced by Kamasi Washington, obviously, and Herbie Hancock. We’ve done a lot of stuff with vocalists and MCs, so I think collaborating with other instrumentalists would be more fun.

I noticed that your album art was really dark for I, II, III but with IV there’s a total tonal change. What’s up with that? Alex Sowinski, drummer: We’ve kind of done everything in a learning fashion, so we were just trying, experimenting a lot initially. Even by the time of IV we were still trying tons of stuff out, but I think as people we’re all feeling so different compared to when we started making music and when we were doing online stuff for free, playing those covers, so we wanted things to feel brighter and newer. We’re not necessarily like super closed, dark atmosphere people, but our music and the sound of our music was kind of like that in the beginning, especially with the Odd Future stuff and because of what was going on in our lives.

Leland Whitty, BBNG's saxophonist

People have said a lot of stuff about BADBADNOTDOOM – how do you feel about that? AS: That’d be fucking cool. We did a remix for him on Key to the Kuffs and he did a verse on [Ghostface Killah collab album] Sour Soul as well. That’d be amazing – we’ve met DOOM a couple of times and he’s always been super nice. We’re very influenced by all his music and all the music he’s sampled – he introduced us to Brazilian music, as well as through his work with Madlib, and that’s some of our favourite music ever. Who are your favourite Brazilian musicians? AS: Jeez, I don’t know – definitely like, Marcos Valle, Hermeto Pascoal, Gal Costa – I don’t know, there’s just so many. The whole Clube da Esquina collective is great too. There’s so much great music coming out of Brazil. It’s like this beautiful blend of jazz, soul, funk and folk music and like, African music as well, so it’s a precious sound that really inspires us a lot. Why did you shift away from covers in your studio material? CH: I think it’s a natural progression for pretty much any band – when you form, you’re still trying to get to know the people you’re playing with and also exploring music, so the easiest thing to do is really just to go “oh what songs do you like? Let’s try this.” And for us that turned into changing the songs we were covering to more jazzy stuff in the case of covering hip hop songs. That teaches you a lot about music, and how to play together, and what you want to write eventually, so naturally we evolved into spending more and more time on our original compositions. AS: We also got like the potential opportunity to put out an album on Innovative Leisure – they’re friends of ours, they came to a couple of our early early shows, and they offered us potential to do an album release on the label and really pushed us to do all-original stuff and we were super into the challenge and progressing forward in that world, so that was a really big push forward for us. And that’s also after we started Sour Soul

– we started doing stuff for that record a year before we started to do anything for III, so getting into that kind of mindset was really fun and inspiring. How did Sour Soul come about? Did Ghostface get in touch with you guys or was it the other way around? CH: It’s a long story. [laughs] I always answer this question. AS: It’s via our friend Frank Dukes, he’s like a big time producer now but he knows Ghostface cause he did a couple beats for him on his Apollo Kids album and toured with Ghost as his DJ, had this proposition to produce a whole album for him, and he wanted Ghost to share some of the crazy stories that he told Frank about touring, and his life and career in hip hop and all that, so Dukes brought us the proposition for the album and brought in this world of soul instrumentals and ideas, and got Ghost to give us the goods. So Ghost’s doing some wild shit on tour – what do you guys do in your spare time when touring? CH: We’re definitely not as crazy as Ghost and the rest of the Wu-Tang Clan [laughs]. Leland Whitty, saxophonist: We’re not that crazy, y’know, we just kinda drink a lot and sit around. AS: Yeah, card games, going record shopping, that kind of thing. It’s hard to say… I don’t think any of the things that I think are crazy would really translate well to an article, but honestly I just think this whole experience is really crazy. We all just met studying music and became friends, and this whole thing was just a fun thing on the side. It’s been six years now, and we’ve gone through a whole load of transformations as people, and we’ve learnt so much – highs and lows. Today’s definitely a high, sharing the stage with legends at a curated moment like this. I think with a lot of jazz, you don’t see this many instrumentalists – they tend to get left behind by so much other beautiful music, so I think the whole ride has been crazy. This interview was edited for length and clarity.

Exeposé Music writers share their top picks of Exeter's musical societies EXTUNES

BEATS AND BASS

CAMPUS BANDS

SOUL CHOIR

ExTunes is one of the largest and most ambitious music societies in the country. With nearly 1000 members participating in over 22 different societies - from the symphony orchestra, to chapel choir, and big band - there is something for everyone. We have fantastic rehearsal and performance facilities, host events and socials throughout the year, and can also support students with music tuition costs. Louis Brown, President of ExTunes

Beats and Bass is Exeter University’s dance music society, which also runs its own club night. They offer DJing and music production workshops, various events and socials, and organise trips to festivals further away such as Love Saves The Day and Bugged Out Weekender. A perfect choice for lovers of drum and bass, techno, garage, hip hop, house, and all places in between. Maddy Parker, Music Editor

Are you a musician? A performer? A singer, a dancer, or just an enthusiastic listener? Then Campus Bands may be the society for you. Campus Bands runs both informal socials and more high profile events, including Exeter’s Battle of the Bands tournament in Term 2. With dedicated practice rooms and recording equipment also available to members, Campus Bands is a must for any looking to make music at Exeter. Graham Moore, Deputy Editor

Exeter University Soul Choir is one of the most fun and versatile music societies on campus. Whether it be a classic soul song or a pop standard with a soul-twist, the choir is passionate about delivering high-quality entertainment in some of Exeter’s best venues. We are looking for dedicated singers to audition to join the choir and also people interested in joining our soul band! George Pope, Copy Editor

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screen

Say hello to my little friends Exeposé Screen introduces your new editors for the forthcoming year Fenton Christmas Print Editor

AMED after a combination of a famous deer-chasing dog (YouTube it) and the best day of the year, Fenton took the rather questionable decision to attempt to study English, despite not really liking books. Always up for a cheeky indie film, he’ll still argue to the end that No Country For Old Men is the best film ever made. He regularly binge watches Star Wars, Lord of the Rings and can recite all the Pirates of the Caribbean films wordfor-word, even if they do suck. He will pretty much buy anything with Batman or Back to the Future on because he never learnt how to grow up. He is a massive Chelsea fan and will destroy you on Mario Kart. Open to any type of music, he can be found awkwardly dad-dancing in the corner every Cheesies after one too many whiskeys. There is no clear evidence that La La Land made him cry.

Ben Faulkner Print Editor

EN is a second year History student who neglects course readings for Braveheart (fucking Braveheart). Ben’s favourite film of all time is Moneyball, a film about baseball, since as a Reading fan he’ll never find a satisfactory ending to a film about football. Ben’s most quotable line is “Keaton was robbed!” (in reference to Michael Keaton not winning the Oscar for Birdman). He chants it in the Lemmy, writes it on bus seats, and if you ever meet him, he’ll greet you with it. When not buried in History books (pretending to read) or wasting his life savings on pizza, Ben can be found sobbing over [500] Days of Summer or redecorating his room to look like a Wes Anderson interior. He likes to dabble in a disconcerting range of music genres and also waits patiently for a BUCS badminton call-up.

Johnny Chern Online Editor

ERE’S JOHNNY! Johnny is a second-year Politics and International Relations student with a better eye for unconventional, edgy filmmaking than a good essay. He is definitely still not angry that Fenton swooped in and stopped a Johnny and Ben print editor double-act. He might dabble in a political piece, but please trust his scathing takes on Hollywood over his views on world affairs. Johnny often says his favourite film could be Casablanca, but also maybe Chungking Express (nope, no idea either) because fewer people have heard of it. Like so many others, Johnny has an unhealthy obsession with Netflix but an even unhealthier obsession with pot noodles. He can be found enjoying both simultaneously instead of attending Exeposé proofing, but will turn up when reminded that there is free pizza.

Molly Gilroy Online Editor

N a mission to forever be caught wearing winged eyeliner and a signature red-lip, Molly embraces all things 50’s and stylized, with her Audrey Hepburn box-set in prime position on her aesthetic shelf (strangely adjacent to seven series of Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and usually finds herself ‘overdressed’ for every social function. Molly professes her love to her spirit animal, the fox, pretty much daily, having admitted solemnly however that she has never actually seen one in real life. When not found planning to go to her next gig or listening to Morrissey and Mark Kozelek’s rendition of ‘Moon River’, Molly should be studying for her final year in English Literature but who has the time? Parisian prints and macaroons are also a definite soul pleaser for her…and this is where I shall let the judgement end…

EXHIBIT

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15 SEPT 2017

EDITORS: Fenton Christmas and Ben Faulkner

SCREEN

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Fresh perspective H

Johnny Chern, Online Screen Editor, takes a look at on-screen university protrayals

ELLO Freshers (or anyone else)! You’ve probably heard a lot about uni: sex, drugs, rock ‘n’ roll and the rest of it. Is it really no work and all play? Representations of higher education have always existed in popular culture and what we’re told about uni is either conflicting or just plain impossible. Here to help you out, let’s look at the best portrayals of uni life on screen, singling out what they get right and what they get wrong. Fresh Meat (2011 - 2016) This insanely witty show captures a lot of what it’s like to be a student: people from all different backgrounds get grouped together and form a camaraderie. Some are posh and buy extra virgin olive oil, whilst others rely entirely on their student loan. Some turn up to uni with an armada of notches on their bedpost, whilst others turn up unaware of what that euphemism even means. What matters is that

you’re all in the same place now. Fresh Meat does, however, take liberties in exaggerating the university experience. There is sex and there are drugs, but all things in moderation. University isn’t exactly the live-freedie-young cesspool of hedonism that Fresh Meat thinks it is (and Lafrowda wishes it is). You’re there to get a degree, afterall. Fresh Meat is a show written by people who left uni 20 years ago, and it shows - mainly because everyone in Fresh Meat dresses like they’re from the 90s. Starter for 10 (2006) Whilst Fresh Meat looks at where uni students are different from each other, Starter for 10 looks at where they’re the same. If you’re at the same university as someone, you probably got similar A-level (or equivalent)

results and have similar academic interests. And through societies or your course, it’s easy to find likeminded people. Unlike Fresh Meat, this film does try to balance the academic side with the party side. “I need to be in a place where people have a passion for knowledge,” James McAvoy declares in voiceover, and much is done to show that uni is, ultimately, about academia. It is a film where even the archetypal blonde is clever enough to appear on University Challenge. Most of all, Starter for 10 captures that when going to uni, you are entering a new world. There are new friends and relationships, new opportunities, and many begin to adopt a new outlook on the world. Educating Rita (1983) Starter for 10 flirts with the idea that

there might be a cultural barrier between those who seek further education and those who don’t in a Britain so obsessed with class, but Educating Rita forces you to to gaze upon it. Like Starter for 10, Educating Rita is set in the 1980s and is largely a period piece about the place of intellectualism in Thatcherite Britain. Except, this film is contemporary and hence the script does not connect its themes with the modern era. Educating Rita isn’t as much about university life (it’s titular Rita is a mature student studying through the Open University), but it finds its place on this list because anyone who has ever said that they’re a student and been met with a scoff or a “why don’t you find a real job” will be able to identify with it. The Riot Club (2014) I don’t know; I’ve not been to Holland Hall (don’t worry, you’ll understand soon).

stagecoachbus.com/unirider

87.7FM

15 SEP 2017 | EXEPOSÉ

Science

SCIENCE EDITORS: Leah Crabtree Luke Smith

A positive force

Meet the bionic team experimenting with Exeposé Science

Ayesha Tandon (Online) Natural Sciences

Luke Smith (Print) Biochemistry What made you want to go into science? The science department at my school ran a CSI (Newport) day, where we got to use forensic techniques to catch a villian of the most grievous kind. Maybe it was clichéd, but the power of science was ﬁnally revealed to me.

Leah Crabtree (Print) Medical Sciences

Rhys Davies (Online) Engineering

What made you want to go into science? A science teacher in primary school who put up with my incessant questioning. It’s hard to explain to a 10 year old why ice ﬂoats on water, but I never left a science class with unanswered questions!

What made you want to go into science? Simple, Science is sexy. It’s a looking glass into the universe, it moulds the world around us and it helps countless people in ways that seemed impossible just yesterday. It’s the future.

What made you want to go into science? Fantastic science teachers at secondary school. Or, as my mum maintains, an unhealthy obsession with Scrubs when I was a teen...

What do you want to see in the future? Time machines, please. I know travelling back in time is practically impossible, but I need to improve my grades somehow.

What do you want to see in the future? Cold fusion. The energy crisis is possibly the biggest threat facing mankind today, and cracking cold fusion would be a huge step towards ﬁxing the problem!

What do you want to see in the future? A cure for Alzheimer’s. After spending a year researching and volunteering with Alzheimer’s patients, I am even more aware of the imminent need of a cure for this cruel disease.

Favourite scientific discovery? Evolution by natural selection. It was the first discovery to show how cumulative complexity could independently arise over time - a mindset that has defined every area of science since.

Favourite scientiﬁc discovery? I love ‘paradigm shifting’ discoveries. Quantum theory is my favourite. Before quantum mechanics, physicists were pretty smug in their knowledge of the world. How wrong they were…

What do you want to see in the future? I want to see a much more vast international scientific community, where everyone has the ability to learn and contribute, and where the scientific calibre we have benefits everyone. Also interstellar travel. I will have my hand in both. Favourite scientific discovery? The most important and my favourite discovery is of course Newton’s gravity. Where would we float without it?

Favourite scientiﬁc discovery? Penicillin arguably helped us win WWII and has continued to be a modern healthcare miracle, curing a plethora of bacterial diseases and saving countless lives.

Better down where it’s wetter? D

ISNEY’S shockingly cheerful song ‘Under the Sea’ paints a rosy picture about what goes on in the depths of dark waters, but world-class research supported by the University of Exeter tells a different story. In the first week of July this year, a variety of marine biologists and ecologists, ambassadors of fishing industries and climate change scientists from over 20 countries gathered under the singular roof of this university, to discuss what they love to study most - fish. They assembled to share findings about the dangerous threats faced by fish populations due to overfishing, climate change and human pollution. And, what were these findings uncovered at the 50th Anniversary Symposium of the Fisheries Society in the British Isles? In a dramatic display of irony, Professor Charles Tyler of the University of Exeter found that the booming usage of birth control pills is sabo-

Rhiddi Mane dives into Exeter’s ﬁshy research

taging the sex lives of fish. A fifth of male fresh-water fish in UK rivers are now “trans-gender” as a result of chemicals originating from contraceptives and anti-depressants flushed into these waters.

Birth control pills are sabotaging the sexlives of fish In addition to reduced sperm quality, these fish undergo physiological changes enabling some to produce eggs and display less competitive behaviour when it comes to attracting females. While these fish have no choice in the matter, another piece of research presented at the same Sympos i u m

found that male clownﬁsh meticulously decide to become females if their ‘wife’ is eaten, which are known to be larger and more dangerous protectors of their clan from predatory organisms such as sharks. More importantly, they found a hole in the plot of Finding Nemo, where Nemo’s father should have actually turned into his mother after her death. Other research showed that due to a rising

ocean temperature caused by global warming, fish are shrinking. Due to a reduction in oxygen levels, it is predicted that the size of fish such as cod and haddock could shrink by 10-20% by 2050 and have them voyaging to colder waters. So when Donald Trump decided to rip up the Paris Agreement, he actually took a large bite out of your fish and chips order. Speaking of disrupted cooperation in international politics, a disruption in fish cooperation has been observed by Dr Sophie Nedelec of the University of Exeter as well. The culprit here is noise from motorboats, which i n -

hibits the ability of a species affectionately termed ‘cleaner’ fish to eat parasites from other fish known as ‘clients’. Instead, they feed on their clients’ protective mucus layer, thus severely damaging the health of coral reef fish. If we are sickening and shrinking fish, we are also suffocating them, as revealed by another innovative study undertaken by Dr Peter Cox of the University of Exeter, who estimated that long-term climate change leads to a decrease in primary marine production by 3% for each degree centigrade that the ocean warms. Lesser photosynthetic plant-like organisms in oceans is likely to seriously deplete oxygen needed for marine life to thrive and survive. Thanks to this expanding body of research, we now know that it’s not looking as good down there as Disney would have us believe and there is an urgent need to fish for newer solutions to this aquatic catastrophe.

Flaming hot Jupiter!

SCIENCE

Rhys Davies, Online Science Editor, looks into the iron-boiling atmosphere of WASP-121b

HE eponymous ‘they’ strike again. You may know ‘them’ from such a sentence as “Well, you know what they say”, but this time ‘they’ are a team of international researchers lead by Exeter’s own Dr. Tom Evans. Their most recent research, conducted using NASA’s Hubble space telescope, has discovered the most signiﬁcant evidence to date of an exoplanet sporting a highly mathematically fashionable stratosphere. Solid evidence of such an exoplanet has eluded astronomers all over the world for some time. Just quickly though, before we look at this in more detail, allow me to tell you that an exoplanet is simply a planetary body outside of our solar system, an ‘extra-solar planet’. And a stratosphere is an atmospheric layer surrounding a planet that gets hotter as its altitude increases.

(It’s) hot enough to vaporise and maintain gaseous iron With deﬁnitions out the way, we can set the scene with some facts. The exoplanet in question is called WASP-121b, a huge gas giant body 900 light years away that is alone in its system and or-

bits its star in just under 1.3 earth days. It is nicknamed ‘hot Jupiter’ because of its enormity, and the fact that it flies close enough to its star to reach temperatures of 2,500 Celsius. This is hot enough to vaporise and maintain gaseous iron. Our researchers, utilising the Hubble telescope and a method of spectroscopy, found evidence that the upper layer of WASP-121b’s atmosphere is significantly higher than the lower part. This is a rare phenomenon in the vast coldness of space. The spectroscopy method works much like a human’s finger print, whereby different molecules emit different wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation (or ‘light’, for simplicity’s sake). We are then able to detect these wavelengths of light and compare them and

Photo: PeakPX

their intensity to other known molecular ﬁngerprints here on earth for identiﬁca-

tion and measurement purposes. Speciﬁcally, our researchers used this method across space to receive and identify wavelengths of infrared radiation from WASP-121b’s atmosphere. They found that the molecules in the upper atmosphere glowed h o t with the wavelengths of light t h a t would be expected from a stratosphere, and thus were not blocked by cooler regions of the same molecules. Using the same method, our researchers also found that the temperature difference between the upper and lower parts of 121b’s atmosphere is quite signiﬁcant. As of yet they are uncertain regarding the cause

of this extreme heating, but have some ideas. They indicated in this paper (and have given evidence on the idea in previous papers) that they predict the ultraheating is due to vanadium oxide and titanium oxide gases in the atmosphere. These are gases capable of absorbing the star’s light, much like how ozone absorbs UV light from our sun.

This is a rare phenomenon in the vast coldness of space Now, you might think this is quite a niche discovery, but its signiﬁcance to research into atmospheric physics and chemistry should not be understated. Professor David Sing, associate professor of astrophysics at Exeter and coauthor of the paper, commented that “this new research is the smoking gun evidence scientists have been searching for when studying exoplanets”. He also noted that the discovery is a step forward in ﬁguring out how planets behave under different conditions, research that will help us learn about the conditions on different planets. This is perhaps the beginning of a new type of reconnaissance for the dis-

Hangover Cure?

ITH freshers’ week upon us, anything to help avoid that dreaded hangover is surely worth the read. Most of us have heard the normal drinking myths: have a cold shower to get rid of that hangover, eat before you go to bed… but where do these well-known drinking tactics come from, and is there really any truth behind their reasoning? Perhaps you were under the illusion that preventing that morning hangover is as easy as eating carbs before you go to bed. While a worthy excuse to justify 3am cheesy chips, don’t expect it to magically soak up those tequila shots and reduce your chances of a hangover. At this point in the night the alcohol will already have been absorbed and the damage done. Another common method employed is taking an aspirin or ibuprofen before you start drinking to prevent developing a hangover the next morning. Not only will the medication have worn off by the next morning, but this combination of aspirin/ibuprofen and alco-

Hannah Kitt, Copy Editor, debunks some hangover myths hol can be dangerous, leading to liver inﬂammation and potential damage. It is a better idea to take these medications the next morning when you wake up with a hangover.

You are just going to be a very wide awake drunk/hungover person You may have a friend, as I do, who swears that a cold shower or a cup of coffee as soon as you wake up will prevent you getting a hangover. It makes some sense why your friend may think this as both the cold shower and coffee will wake you up and thus treat the symptoms of fatigue brought on by both the late night and the alcohol. Despite this, it won’t have any effect on the speed of the alcohol leaving your system. You

are just going to be a very wide awake drunk/hungover person. But, hey, if you are one of those people who believes wholeheartedly that this works, keep doing it! The placebo effect is deﬁnitely working for you, and who am I to ﬁght against that? Let’s discuss the tactical chunder, and end the myths surrounding it once and for all. Alcohol enters your bloodstream almost immediately after consumption, so when you vomit and empty out the contents of your stomach, you are removing very small amounts of alcohol from your system. It will not make you less drunk at the time nor reduce your hangover the next day. However, after listing all the things

that will not help your hangover, it is only fair that I give you some hope. Although eating before bed is not particularly helpful, eating before you start drinking will slow down the alcohol being absorbed into your bloodstream. It will not prevent you from getting drunk, but it will slow down the process. Maybe go and ﬁnd those cheesy chips earlier on in the night, because eating particularly fatty and greasy foods before drinking is the best type of food for lining the stomach, which is what slows the absorption.

Most of the symptoms of a hangover (such as that awful headache) are the result of dehydration caused by the last night’s drinking. This can easily be ﬁxed by making sure you drink water throughout the evening along with your other drinks. Taking a bottle of water to bed with you is another good idea. Now that you know the ins and outs of drinking, I wish you luck in your future attempts to avoid those dreaded hangovers!

Photo: PXhere

15 SEPT 2017 | EXEPOSÉ

SPORT

Grassroot Grecians

Ollie Lund Online Editor

T would take a brave - or foolish - person to make hard and fast predictions about Exeter City FC's prospects for the coming season. On and off the pitch, unpredictability and chaos are built into the DNA of the fourth division of English football. City’s 2016-17 season was a roller coaster that saw a miraculous turn of form lift them from bottom of the league at Christmas to within touching distance of promotion come May. Yet, as Paul Tisdale begins his eleventh season in charge following a stable summer, there is a cautious optimism enveloping those around the club.

There is cautious optimism around the club This is a stark change from when the final whistle blew in Exeter City’s play-off final defeat to Blackpool and 2017’s fairy tale did not get its ‘happy ever after’. Whilst it was a great day out for the fans, it was bittersweet. The squad that lifted the Grecians up to fifth in the league was vulnerable, likely to be torn apart by vultures of greater financial means

throughout the football league, and the club would have to rebuild again. Yet, a summer of departures has not transpired. The only devastating loss is that of Ollie Watkins, the jewel in the crown of last season’s side with fifteen goals and countless moments of inspiration, who has gone to Brentford. The departure of the effervescent Jack Stacey, scorer of the stoppage time winner that took Exeter to Wembley, to League Two rivals Luton is also a blow. The other departures will concern City fans less. Sixteen-year-old Ethan Ampadu, in spite of his eyecatching move to Chelsea, was not a first team fixture. Goalkeeper Bobby Olejnik was at best inconsistent, whilst Joel Grant flattered to deceive during his time as a Grecian, although the treachery of his move to Plymouth leaves a sour taste in the mouth. There may be nostalgia at Matt Oakley’s retirement after his six-year spell for the club but he started just five times in his final season. The spine of the side that finished fifth last season has been retained, and this is crucial in a division where the cores of squads are decimated and rebuilt year on year. The Grecians have a number of players capable of firing them to promotion. The excellent David Wheeler scored 19 goals last year, and Reuben Reid remains a dependable source of goals, too. There are high hopes that

Liam McAlinden will mature and build on the promise shown in his debut season. Likewise City possess a plethora of talent through the midﬁeld with the likes of Lloyd James and Jake Taylor capable of setting the tempo for Tisdale’s passing game. The superb Lee Holmes will join them on his return from injury alongside academy products. These include the highly-rated Jack Sparkes, who will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of Watkins and Matt Grimes before him. During his tenure at the club Paul Tisdale has shown his ability to build success from limited resources, and it has been illustrated this summer by his strengthening of the backline. Former Premier League defender Dean Moxey has signed, alongside the returning Luke Croll. Moxey left the club in 2009 with 176 league appearances, and there can be little doubt his quality will be a lift to the club. Tisdale will have to improve City’s home record of just eight wins last season if they are to ﬁnish in the top seven but the consistency in the side will rightly leave fans and players alike dreaming of going one step better than last season; promotion and a return to League One.

Wil Jones Sport Editor

Chief ﬁfteen

HE day before ECFC’s play off defeat at Wembley, Exeter Chiefs lifted the Aviva Premiership trophy in Twickenham, a remarkable feat for a club that was promoted to the top tier for the first time a mere seven years ago. It was fitting that the winning penalty in the final was landed by Gareth Steenson, a stalwart of the club who epitomises the Chiefs’ growth from a tight knit community club in the Championship to the best team in England. That ethos remains, and everyone attached to the club would attest to it. Head Coach Rob Baxter was club captain for a decade before taking over the reins in that promotionwinning season. For all the stability his stewardship gives to the club, the coaching team do not rely on local pride, grit, and determination alone. Modernity has been fully embraced, and where the club might once have been known for unglamorous, forward-oriented rugby, there has been a steady progression to a more attacking style. Expect more of the same this season. Jack Nowell represents these two worlds: local talent and hard work mixed with genuine ability and flair. Having toured with the British & Irish

Lions in the summer, the winger will miss the start of the season as he recuperates. His tries and jinking ability will be missed, but fortunately the Chiefs start with three relatively kind fixtures that should help them avoid a repeat of their poor start to last season. The real tests come after the Autumn internationals, and how they deal with those key fixtures in the lead up to Christmas may define the Chiefs’ season. The South West derby at home against Bath at the beginning of December is one for the fans to look forward to. Pre-season saw the Chiefs in fine form, and EURFC - the University’s Rugby Club - saw representation through Sam Skinner, Sal M’Boge, Sam Morley, and Pete Laverick. In Nowell’s absence, another local talent with national pedigree is Henry Slade, and the versatile back will alternate with Steenson for the 10 shirt. This healthy competitiveness is indicative of the absence of egos within the team. There have been departures from the club, and notable ones, too. Lions second row Geoff Parling will be missed, as will Damian Welch, and Tom Johnson - another stalwart from the Championship days - has retired. However, the Chiefs have added, with Australian scrum half Nic White and flanker Matt Kvesic bolstering the ranks. South African second row Wilhelm van der Sluys will be tasked

Meet the Editors

with shoring up the lock position in Parling's absence.. Having won the Premiership, it is tempting to wonder if it’s the end of an era for the club, that the only way is down. Baxter dismissed such a prospect: “if there is now a downward spiral, I’ll have failed in my job. We have let ourselves down in Europe for the last couple of seasons and that has to be a marker for us.” They face a daunting Champions Cup group: Leinster and Glasgow are formidable attacking teams, whilst Montpellier have added world class pedigree to a team already full of talent. Visiting all three teams will be tricky for the Chiefs but the prospect

Local talent mixed with genuine ability and flair of facing them back home at Sandy Park will be one they should relish. For all the progress that has been made, there is still something to be said for a raucous Devon crowd fuelled by cider, pasties, and an appreciation that - win or lose - their club is doing it the ‘right’ way. In any case, don’t write off their chances of ending up with another improbable piece of silverware at the end of the season.

Wil Jones

Kieran Jackson

Michael Jones

2nd year Psychology

3rd year English

3rd year History & Politics

3rd year English

Print Editor

Online Editor

Dorothea Christmann

Favourite Sport & Team: Football, and my home-

Favourite Sport & Team: Rugby and the Scarlets sit

Favourite Sport & Team: Football & the red half

Favourite Sport & Team: Football and the mighty Blue-

town club Manchester City.

top of the list. I also enjoy football and cycling.

of Merseyside, Liverpool.

birds - Cardiff City.

Sporting Highlight: Watching Germany win the

Sporting Highlight: Gavin Henson’s penalty goal

Sporting Highlight: The Reds’ Champions League

Sporting Highlight: Exeter City's 95th minute winner

World Cup in 2014. It was 120 of the most joyous

in 2005, ‘the’ moment Welsh Rugby was deﬁnitively

comeback in Istanbul is right up there, but seeing

in last year’s play-off semi-ﬁnal was spectacular, but I’ll go

minutes of my life, and the closest World Cup ﬁnal in

revived on and off the ﬁeld. Closely followed by wit-

England lift the Ashes live in Sydney back in 2011

with the Patriots’ unbelievable comeback in Super Bowl 51

years.

nessing the last ten minutes of Wales against Scotland

was an unforgettable experience.

against the Falcons.

Over/Under: Although a good player, Jonny Wilkin-

Over/Under: He can notch 20 goals a season, but

Over/Under: Steven Gerrard comes close but his Cham-

the overrated Paul Pogba has done absolutely nothing

son’s aura far outweighed his ability in the noughties.

Harry Kane is yet to do it on the biggest stage and

pions League medal is his saving grace, so David Luiz for

to prove he is worth £89m. Meanwhile, Toni Kroos

By contrast, his Welsh counterpart Stephen Jones was

is therefore massively overhyped. Without trying to

the media’s insistence that he can actually defend when he

dictates the Real Madrid and Germany midﬁelds yet -

a considerably better playmaker at outside half yet

sound like Dorothea, Dietmar Hamann was a beast

can’t. Super Joey Allen of Stoke City is underrated: midﬁeld

overshadowed by Cristiano Ronaldo - still doesn't get

doesn’t get mentioned in the same breath: that’s the

in the centre of midﬁeld for both Germany and

gold, could pull the strings at Barcelona, and is the obvious

the plaudits he deserves.

power of mythology (and one kick…).

Liverpool yet never got the credit he deserved.

natural heir to Andrés Iniesta.

in 2010. Over/Under: One goal at Euro 2016 for France;

SPORT

Off pitch offerings

AU committee members tell us why you should join their club

Jiu Jitsu

NTERESTED in improving fitness, learning self-defence, building confidence, and finding a friendly club with awesome socials vibes? Then perhaps Jiu Jitsu, the largest martial arts society on campus, is the club for you. Uniquely, Jiu Jitsu is a club accessible to everyone. Whatever gender, height, or build, Jiu Jitsu will equip you with the skills to defend yourself. As an holistic martial art it covers a wide range of techniques: wrist locks to throwing, break falling, and defence from an armed opponent - in short, offering something for everyone. Track your progression with gradings and, if you feel adventurous, try your hand at competing. Training takes place twice a week in Streatham Sports Park, and we often rehydrate in the campus pub, The Ram, after these sessions - a great opportunity to meet fellow members. We run weekly fun socials throughout the term, ranging in sobriety from meals out to nights you can’t remember! We’d love to see you for one of our taster sessions in the Sports Park during Freshers' Week and grow our Jitsu family.

Riding

IDING Club is the ultimate horsey family, offering something for everyone whether you have never sat on a horse before or compete at an afﬁliated level. We provide our members with a comprehensive range of structured lessons, working on speciﬁc areas to improve your riding individually alongside a range of hacks, dressage, and showjumping clinics. With 3 BUCS and 2 friendly teams, some of the best hacking in the country including beach rides, volunteer programmes with Riding for the Disabled, intramural sport, and weekly social events for all its members, we have more than you can shake a boot at! Our activities almost all take place on a Wednesday or at weekends, and we organise lessons around your weekly commitments. You can participate as much or as little as you like, although we can’t recommend socials enough - you really will meet some great people and have a lot of fun! Riding is a sport for everyone and we are proud to provide many opportunities at subsidised rates. Competing for BUCS teams merely requires a novice dressage test and jump on an unknown horse that is provided for you. We can't wait to meet you at the Freshers' Fair!

Surfing

EY Freshers! Hopefully you're pretty stoked about being part of probably the best University in the world, but you should be even more stoked to be part of Surf Club! Whether you shred foam, take on 10ft stand up barrels, or have never touched a board in your life, you will be welcomed by the friendliest and raddest club on campus. Our weekly Saturday trips are a great way to escape to the beach and take advantage of the gnarliest (only) waves in England. If you're just frothing for more, our legendary weekenders to Newquay should be added to your calendar immediately, along with our 3 holiday trips abroad; this year we're going to Morocco, Portugal, and France. If you're interested in competing in BUCS this October come and let us know! Throughout the year you will also be treated to the loosest of socials, perks from our rad sponsors, the sexiest stash, attempts at intramural team sport, and limbering of the surf muscles with yoga. We will be running taster trips during Freshers' week, a social on Friday, and you can sign up at the Freshers' Fair on Saturday in the Sports Hall. Follow our Facebook page for regular updates, sign ups, trips and socials and send us a message with any questions or general surf chat. Looking forward to meeting you all. Shakaaas.

Triathlon

E pride ourselves on the range of ability throughout the club, from elite athletes to people who have never done a Triathlon before. The club was founded in 2010 and exceeded 75 members last year. Despite being a growing club, we are incredibly friendly and open to everyone of all abilities. We offer over seven weekly training sessions and aim to ensure that all training sessions are for everyone, whether you are training for an Ironman or a new 5km PB. Although competing for the club is entirely optional, the many members who do ﬁnd it a really fun, worthwhile experience, and a means of measuring their progression without any pressure to perform. We don’t have a selection process or minimum ability to compete - only your desire to race! In addition to triathlons, the club competes in aquathlons and duathlons as well as in the individual sports: swimming, cycling and running. Aside from competitions, the club also runs a mix of socials including dinners, quiet catch ups, and crazy fancy dress nights. Other events include beach training sessions, training at the 50m pool at Kelly College, and open water swimming sessions. If you are interested in joining us, or just have a question, don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Boxing

XETER University Amateur Boxing Club is a club for all individuals, whether you simply want to keep fit or are a seasoned competitor. Our student led sessions are the perfect way to increase your fitness in a relaxed and friendly environment. These sessions are non-contact (so you won’t need to worry about sparring), and are perfect for individuals just starting out with boxing. For those interested in competitive boxing, our two coaches Mike and Kev are both nationally respected with years of experience. These sessions are suitable for people with previous boxing experience who are looking to represent the club at varsity or BUCS. Of course, no University sports club would be complete without socials. Ours run on a Monday, and are a great way to get out and meet new people in a chilled environment; they can be enjoyed both sober or with a few drinks. If the club sounds like something you’d be interested in, come along to one of our sessions and introduce yourself to one of our committee members. They’ll make you feel welcome, and you’ll be fighting fit in no time!

Korfball

XETER University Korfball Club began in 2009 and since then has increased in members and improved in results at both national and beginner's tournaments. We've recently received a grant from Sport England to fund the growth of the club, so we have big plans to continue improving coaching standards, equipment, and the standard of Korf we play. This is definitely the year to get involved! Korfball is a mixture of basketball and netball, with new rules that create a completely different and exciting sport. As a club, we’re not cliquey nor are we aggressive; our aim is simply to have a lot of fun both on and off the court. The ethos and atmosphere of EUKC is such that all members are made to feel part of the team, whether they are beginners or experienced players. We aim to publicise and celebrate this minority sport, increasing participation on campus at training and local league events as well as off campus at BUCS tournaments. I turned up at the taster sessions last year and was asked to play on the first team, even though I didn’t have a clue what I was doing to begin with. Next thing we’re in BUCS finals winning silver, and now I’m club captain! We have a demonstration and taster sessions throughout Freshers’ Week; hope to see you there!

CONTINUED FROM BACK PAGE also good value for money, and membership prices fall over the year in correlation to the amount of term time left." Participation within the AU is typically popular with students but Jim is aware of the value of exposure. The livestreaming of Wednesday fixtures is being discussed, an exciting possibility for participants and viewers alike. An "Exeter Fives" results

prediction competition has also been introduced with the prize of a TimePiece Gold Card; an object of high value after BUCS fixtures on a Wednesday night. Exeter's success in BUCS is an annual event, and last year the University finished 5th out of 160 institutions for the third time in 5 years. Excitingly, "there are still a number of areas where we can

continue to grow and maintain our top 5 position." But the most important part of BUCS? "That we beat Bath," says Jim, tongue in cheek. "Who doesn't enjoy that?" Before you bleed green getting behind the AU, first things first: during Fresher's Week get out, get involved, and enjoy yourself.

Join the Sports Team Want to write about University, national, and international sporting events? Get published in print and online? Drop in and meet the Exeposé Sport Editors in The Ram from 7pm on Tuesday 26th September for Champions League, chat, and curly fries. Get involved as a writer for Exeposé Sport to get free press passes reporting on the Exeter Chiefs and City matches!

Sport

15 SEPT 2017 | EXEPOSÉ

SPORT EDITORS:

Dorothea Christmann Wil Jones

It’s easy being green “

Exeposé Sport talks to Athletic Union President Jim Balshaw about sport at Exeter University

BACK in the good old days, before smartphones and fidget spinners, me and my friends would just go and play football in the fields,” says Jim Balshaw, President of Exeter’s Athletic Union. A passion for football forged at an early age remained with Jim, so “becoming a part of the University club was a natural transition” for him. Having been General Secretary and then Club Captain of EUAFC - the University’s men’s football team - Balshaw was elected to his position earlier this year, and now ensures students receive the best sporting experience possible during their time at Exeter. “Sport at Exeter is an exciting and fantastic thing to be a part of,” says Balshaw. The University is something of a rarity, too, consistently placing as a top 10 university for study as well as a top 5 BUCS sporting institution.

For Balshaw, the best thing about university sport “is the number of friends you can make. Being part of a club helps break down barriers, especially for first years.”

Being part of a club helps break down barriers Getting freshers involved is something all clubs hope for, and you’ll see representation from all 50 clubs on campus during the week. If in doubt, there’s an AU handbook with the clubs’ details and timetables, as well as a snapchat filter available on Forum Hill and St. Luke’s with a competition for the best and funniest photos. The 50 AU clubs - ranging from Karate to Cricket to Korfball - compete in the national British University and Colleges Sport (BUCS) leagues, but that’s not the sole sporting offering. For those

looking to maintain fitness and wellbeing, the Russel Seal Fitness Centre is the state of the art gym facility on campus. “There are 200 individual stations, various fitness classes which run every day, and membership holders also receive various discounts on sports bookings for courts and pitches.” There is also the option of intramural sport, a more casual option for sporting enthusiasts who may want to play for enjoyment at a less intense, but still competitve, level. “Last year we had 4974 individuals in intramural teams and we cover a wide range of sports to ensure we’re reaching out to as many as possible. Currently, that stands at 8 different sports and student satisfaction with intramural sport is high”. The sporting offering in Exeter is not merely confined within the University, as Exeter City Football

Club and the Exeter Chiefs quickly become popular with students in their new City. Balshaw began his sporting time at Exeter by attending a taster session and trials in Freshers’ Week: “from then on I knew it was something I wanted to be a part of, and I have been involved ever since.” It was his role as Club Captain that led to him successfully running for AU President. The balance between study and sporting commitment is not always easy, he admits, “but it’s definitely achievable if you’re commited to both. “Obviously the degree always comes first, but I always saw sport as something to look forward to.” Organising events such as the Varsity helped convince Jim to run for his current position overseeing the AU as a whole. “So far the manifesto points are going well. Our online form system, a restructure of intramural sport, and coaching and refereeing

Photo: wikimedia

schemes are all in place and ready for September.”

I always saw sport as something to look forward to “There are also plans to expand the Russell Seal Sports Centre, Topsham Sports Grounds, and the Sports Hall, and St. Luke’s gym underwent a £30,00 regeneration project over the Summer term.” For those concerned about the monetary commitment of engagement, Jim offers some reassurance. “We work with each club to ensure prices are fair, and naturally they are non-profit. Many clubs also offer reduced memberships later in the year. “The Russel Seal Fitness Centre is

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